In Pursuit of Happiness
by Gladiel
Summary: WILL BE EDITED. Updates won't be up until the edited version is finished.
1. Chapter 1: Rude Awakening

STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY: Inuyasha and all its characters do not belong to me. They belong to their rightful owner, Rumiko Takahashi. This is for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.

**Title:** In Pursuit of Happiness  
**Author:** Gladiel  
**Series:** Inuyasha  
**Genre: **Romance, Humor  
**Pairing: **Sesshoumaru x Kagome  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Chapter Summary:** Drinks and men do _not_ go together.

**IN PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS  
**chapter one  
_rude awakening_

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It was a warm morning for the sun glowed with all its glory, its rays greeting the many creatures that were slowly rising from their rest. It was a new day, and new days meant new events, new responsibilities, and new problems.

Lying on a wide bed in what seemed to be a spacious room, a woman groaned as she placed her palm on her forehead and rubbed it. She felt as if something huge and heavy fell on her skull for pain was ripping it apart. Besides that, she was unusually sore. Sunlight met her drowsy eyes, forcing them open. As she turned her body to the right and reached for a pillow, her hands touched something that was somewhat hard and covered with the same quilt that covered her body.

She suddenly became conscious of a foreign masculine smell. The realization that she was sleeping on a bed from which that pleasant odor, but a man's nonetheless, came from snapped her awake. It shook her with mental alarm that her half-drooped eyes widened and she automatically sat up. Upon doing so her gaze shifted downwards, her naked body greeting her a "good morning". Instinctively she tried to cover herself with the comforter by pulling it close to her breasts, as if to hide her state of undress from a stranger. Her attention went to her left and the sight forced an execration from her mouth.

"_What the hell…_"

A silver-haired god was lying on the bed, chest-down, obviously in a deep slumber. Kagome's eyes stayed glued on his amazingly fair skin, free of any imperfections. He had a Greco-Roman nose and pale-pink lips set slightly apart, a slender back and broad shoulders from which she imagined seraphic wings to sprout any moment. He was breathtakingly beautiful, like an idol in a poster out to seduce countless fans, only he was real - embodied into this perfect man lying down, oblivious to the gears rotating inside Kagome's brain as it assessed the situation she was in.

If he's with his shirt off then…did that mean he's naked down there? What the hell…was she doing there, sitting—no, sleeping beside this stranger? Did they do _it_?

She peeked under the sheets to check if she was naked all the way down.

"All the way down…" came the whispered shock, her heart pounding both in nervousness and incredulity. "Does this mean I'm no longer a virgin?" she asked no one in particular, her voice still a whisper.

Clutching the comforter close to her chest, she stood up, left the bed, and turned around while momentarily forgetting that a man was sleeping on the same set of mattresses and pillows. The moment she stood up, she became increasingly aware of her body's soreness. She turned around to have a better view of the strange room she was in and her eyes landed on the bed she previously slept on. Upon seeing the full nakedness of the man's body, a sexy butt uncovered by the quilt she was holding, she screamed him awake.

"Gods, what is it woman?" he shouted angrily, grudgingly opening his eyes, displeased by the human alarm-clock who woke him from a much-coveted sleep without permission.

"Who are you?" she shrieked as she stood in one corner like a hunted rabbit, body covered by his comforter.

"What the…what are you doing in my room?" he demanded, before groaning at sharp headache compounded by an unsteady stomach.

"Well, you tell me! This is your room, isn't it?"

He turned around, chest-up, and frowned at his state of undress. He pulled the blanked over himself to get some decency. Where was his comforter anyway?

He glanced at the woman again. How could he forget?

He tried to get a grip on even just one fleeting memory of the night before but none would make itself known to him. So he had a terrible hang-over, a strange woman screaming her lungs out barely covered with a blanket, and no memories to explain the why's and how's to him.

"Oh God, please tell me you're an angel. I don't mind losing my virginity to an angel," she started rambling. 

"Pardon?" he asked, looking at her as if she lost her mind. Of all the people he slept with, it was one who was recently released from a mental hospital. Or worse, a woman who had escaped from it.

"And I _believed_ in marriage before sex! I was supposed to be a virgin until then! We did it, didn't we?" she accused him, her gray-blue eyes clouded with confusion.

"You're a virgin?" he asked in disbelief.

"Well, probably not anymore!"

"How old are you anyway?" He looked at her skeptically, one brow raised. She seemed to be in her twenties already, perhaps at twenty-four or five.

"That doesn't matter!"

The woman was clearly about to go into hysterics, if she hadn't already.

"Don't you remember anything?" He hoped she did. At least, if that was the case, then they could have answers to _both_ their questions.

She was taking deep, loud breaths. "I...I don't know," was her broken reply.

"Would you _please_ keep quiet and let us talk things over _calmly_. It's not as if I know what happened either," he said in frigid tones that effectively stopped her from breaking his glass windows with her voice.

Her attention was suddenly caught by a sheet of paper lying on top of the table beside her. Wordlessly she picked it up, as if she forgot his existence as she did so. He watched her every movement carefully and noticed the sudden widening of her eyes.

"Oh gods…" she muttered, loud enough for him to hear. "I'm married to a stranger." ******  
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_Continued at chapter two...  
_(the following chapters are longer, I promise)_  
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_ Last edited: April 26, 1007_******  
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	2. Chapter 2: Newsbreak

STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY: Inuyasha and all its characters do not belong to me. They belong to their rightful owner, Rumiko Takahashi. This is for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.

**Title:** In Pursuit of Happiness  
**Author:** Gladiel  
**Series:** Inuyasha  
**Genre: **Romance, Humor  
**Pairing: **Sesshoumaru x Kagome  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Chapter Summary:** Things get fast-forwarded for Kagome but, with Sango's help, she tries to get some sort of valid basis for her current situation. Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru already has other plans on his sleeve. Information and anti-stressors can sometimes be a phonecall away.

**IN PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS**  
chapter two  
_newsbreak_

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"Married? What do you mean '_married_'? Don't play games with me, woman."

"I'm not joking!" She turned the paper around, holding it with one hand while the other kept her comforter around herself. She held it up from a distance. "Look! It's a registration paper!"

He scrutinized the rectangular sheet from the bed and recognized the borders that were a trademark of the national office. He noticed his signature at the bottom along with a few others, one of them probably being hers.

"I don't believe you," he said flatly.

Kagome gave him a helpless look before shrieking, "You _should_! It's a damn _marriage registration paper_!"

The woman must be lying. He, Yokoba Sesshoumaru, could not remember any of the said event taking place. People he knew would testify that he possessed the memory of an elephant.

"I don't believe you. You must have set this up." He demanded for a confession. He glared at her, annoyed and infuriated at the same time after she _dared_ deceive him. "You're one of _those_ kind of women," he said with disgust.

She did not need explanations to understand what he implied with his last sentence. "You're accusing me of_ tricking_ you?" she almost shrilled. "And why do you think I'd do _that_?"

He raised a brow. "And why wouldn't you?"

Gods, the man was so full of himself! Kagome growled inwardly. She was standing with nothing but a comforter to cover her naked body at one corner of a stranger's room in who-knows-where place. She was without any recollections of the night before, shocked to the point of losing her sanity, and there was a gorgeous man with nothing but a thin blanket, lying down on that elegant bed, _accusing_ her. The fact that he was ignorant of her inner turmoil and was convinced that she tricked him—was _lying _to him—did _not_ make the situation any better.

With her hand firmly clamped on the edge of the quilt that covered her, Kagome marched right to the bed and shoved the paper to the silver-haired god.

"Read it!"

Sesshoumaru picked the paper that the woman rudely thrust to him and silently read its contents. She watched him and followed the horizontal movement of his eyes, barely keeping her frantic heart stable.

For a moment he felt the beatings of shock, but his carefully trained and kept-in-check emotions soon took hold of the situation. He just looked at her direction for a few seconds before saying in an unwavering voice, "Well, now you needn't worry about having committed premarital sex."

She gaped at him, eyes wide and mouth down to emphasize the dramatic effect. "You're making fun of _me_? This concerns you too, you—you demon! Marriage can only be in effect between _two_ people, not _one_! How can you be so _calm_?" she continued rambling. "Do you understand the situation we have at hand? We are _married_! Two strangers! Do you understand that fact at all? I'm _married_ to a—a…" she looked around his spacious room, fully furnished by an unnamed interior designer, "a filthy rich _stranger_!"

He rubbed his temples. "Shut up, woman. You're making my head ache," he interjected with fine finesse.

The woman started to ramble but Sesshoumaru wasn't paying attention. He was lost in his own thoughts and questions. Was he really married to the woman? It wasn't just some mad strategy of a scheming mother? He wouldn't be surprised if one parent stooped that low to have her daughter married to _him_. But these things can be easily faked. He didn't even _know_ those people who signed the paper as witnesses.

"—And for all I know, we hired two drunk _strangers_ as witnesses! Or maybe _you_ paid them! You're rich!" She looked at him, trying to spill some information from him. A recollection or a tiny memory of the night before would be just as fine, she decided. The man glared at her, displeased by her obvious lack of controlled emotions and sane train of thought.

She took a deep breath and finally said, "OK Kagome. Calm yourself." She started walking back and fourth, five steps forward before turning around and going back. "It's not as if you can't get divorce papers. It's not unusual for a person to get married one day and be divorced the next. People do that these days, right?" she turned to him, waiting for an answer, an approval, or even an encouragement or some sympathy. Having received none, she continued her monologue. "I could just go with him to the office and have everything fixed."

He frowned at her voiced ideas. "No, that's not going to happen."

"And why the hell not?" She refused to believe the words she just heard. "Are you _crazy_? You mean to say you want us to _stay _married?" she nearly shouted.

"I did not mean it that way. I simply do not believe that that paper you are holding is from a legal source. I will not have a scandal lying on my doorstep when none of it was even true." Sesshoumaru stood up, walked to the pile of clothing opposite the bed and grabbed what he assumed to be hers. He threw it to Kagome who was still standing at one corner of the room. "Now get out of my flat before I get the guards to force you out."

He didn't shout. Not exactly. But for Kagome it didn't seem like it was only his voice forcing her out. It was his whole aura: his being in its entirety. He didn't believe the piece of paper but she had no reason not to!

"Well, excuse _me_ for being married! Apparently, we just need some sort of paper to have it done here in this country," Kagome said with scorn. She picked up her clothes that were scattered on the floor and quickly put them on, underwear first. She noticed he was still looking and barked, "Turn around!"

"Why? After I've seen it all?" he said it in a matter-of-factly way, without any hint of humor, as if he was merely stating a fact. If it was the way he told jokes then she did _not _like it at all.

"It's merely propriety," she retorted as she turned around, having realized it was impossible for him to follow anything she said.

Sesshoumaru put on his own clothes while Kagome put on hers. He reached out for the black pants lying on the foot of the bed and pulled it up over his muscled legs. His white long-sleeved shirt came next before he pushed back his silken hair, miraculously returning it to a combed-like state.

After Kagome had put on the last of her clothing, she stood up and tried to straighten the visible folds on her blouse. Both of them stood at opposite ends of the room, an awkward silence quickly building a wall between them.

"I refuse to leave until we've done something about this situation," she finally said stubbornly.

He walked towards her wordlessly and ignored her refusal to leave. With a strong force he pulled her hand and dragged her to the door. Kagome's eyes widened as they passed through the rooms and the hallway, impressed by the elegance of the design and the furniture, before being shoved towards the exit in an ungentlemanly manner.

"I will not believe a woman like you until you bring me a man who can prove those papers are legal," he said with frigid distaste as he shoved her bag to her arms (the bag she didn't notice he picked up from somewhere in his room, having forgotten almost everything after she realized the problem she was in).

She opened her mouth to retort but he slammed the door in front of her even before she could mutter the word 'but'. "If you wanted me to leave that much then I _will_!" she muttered angrily.

She walked with a quick pace while she took her brush from her bag and took a few strokes on her hair to avoid further embarrassment. She left the grand building with an angry huff and went straight to the nearest bus stop. While she waited for the next bus to arrive, she pulled out her phone and dialed a familiar number.

Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru had already lifted his phone even before Kagome did. "Jaken, I want you to check something for me," he said as his gaze fell on a sheet of paper that silently demanded for immediate attention.******  
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"I'm sorry, Miroku, but I really can't go with you to your dentist today," said Sango while she put her wallet, her cell phone, a comb, and a few other necessities inside her bag. "I need to meet Kagome pronto."

The man she addressed was sitting on her couch, dressed in a casual olive green shirt and khaki pants. He frowned at the word 'can't' but after the mention of 'Kagome', his pout became a mask for understanding. Kagome was also his friend and he knew that for Sango she was an inseparable sister. Sango would do anything for her informally adopted sibling, especially when it came to emergencies. Since he was only over for a visit, as Sango agreed to go with him to the dentist later that day, he did not mind if she canceled it to save Kagome from an unknown peril.

"Is her mother and grandfather back?" he asked, silently hoping that it was. How many months was it since he's last seen them anyway? Or heard about them, for that matter?

Sango went to the kitchen to take a bite out of the toasted loaf of bread she prepared earlier. "No, but she says she's swimming in Illusion Island again."

Miroku's eyebrows furrowed together. "But the only time that happened was when—"

"No, I think it's worse," she turned her head so that her eyes met Miroku's. "This time she said she's swimming in her Illusion Island with a _man_."

"Maybe you should go double time?"

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An hour later, Sango spotted Kagome sitting in a window-seat at the café. She had her head propped on one hand while her elbow rested on the table and her left hand played with the straw dipped in mocha frapuccino. Worried, Sango almost ran to Kagome's table. Almost. Still, she was able to walk with poise.

"Kagome!"

"Oh, Sango!" Kagome greeted with a forced smile, although Sango quickly saw the distress embedded underneath. "Thank you so much for coming. I thought I was going to _drown,_" she said. After noticing that her friend was still standing with a small frown on her face, Kagome offered the other chair by extending her hand towards it. "Sit down, sit down."

Sango pulled the chair and sat down, staring intently at her friend for signs of abnormalities. She searched her face for signs of ill-health and trouble but save for a fairly crumpled top, she found none. "Kagome, you look as if you're…perfectly healthy."

Kagome breathed in deeply. "Well, thank you for the observation, but the reason I called you was not to have you check my health but to say that--" she paused before continuing, "I'm no longer single."

"What?" Sango couldn't believe her ears. Kagome called her for _this_? _This_ was what's troubling her? She's swimming in Illusion Island because of _this_?

"I'm no longer a virgin," Kagome leaned closer as she whispered the confession.

Sango gawked at the information and let three seconds pass in silence before a big grin slammed itself on her face. "So the girl finally got laid? Got your dogmas of celibacy broken now?" she teased.

"No, it's worse," Kagome said in a tiny voice, covering her face with the palm of her hands in embarrassment.

"You finally have a boyfriend," Sango nodded.

Kagome looked sideward. "Not _exactly_." She took a sip from her cold drink before continuing, "I _skipped_ the boyfriend part."

Sango stared at her, open-mouthed. "You're engaged?"

"No, no," Kagome shook her head. "I skipped that too."

"What do you mean?"

"Sango, I'm _married_."

Silence hung in mid-air as Kagome waited for a response from her best friend. "Sango?"

A moment of speechlessness caught Sango for a few seconds before she put a hand on Kagome's shoulder and said, "Kagome, look. Whatever your problem is, just tell it outright without joking. That last one wasn't even funny. If you're desperate for a man, I'll go with you on group dates. I'll set you up. You don't need to imagine yourself being married to an illusion, a daydream, or whatever you call it. Have you eaten breakfast? Or dinner last night?"

"Sango! I'm not kidding! I'm serious!" Kagome insisted.

"You're serious?" Sango gave her a skeptical look.

"I _am_ serious!"

Sango didn't say anything for what seemed like eternity. She stared at her friend whom she had known for more than ten years before echoing, "You _are_ serious. Well, if you are, how did _that_ happen? You don't even have a ring," she said, as they both shifted their eyes to Kagome's left hand. "No, there's no ring," Kagome affirmed.

"Well?" Sango waited for some explanation.

"I don't _know_ how it happened. It just _did_."

"Kagome, it's not possible to just sleep the night before as a single woman and wake up _married_."

"That's it."

"That's what?"

"How it happened."

"You mean to say…"

"I was probably drunk last night and when I woke up this morning, viola! I was at this god's room—or maybe an angel's room—and there was an innocent paper sleeping on top of his table."

"Wait a minute! What do you mean _god_ or—or _angel_?"

"Hm…" Kagome paused. "Maybe he was a virgin-seducing devil. But anyway, that man kicked me out after accusing me of lying. As if I'd _lie_ about being married!"

"You mean to say you slept with a man last night, and probably got married somewhere in the middle, then woke up to find yourself no longer single but a wife? And you do not remember any single detail about the whole debacle?"

Kagome nodded. "Exactly. You _perfectly_ understand everything."

"Are you sure? Maybe there was a mistake somewhere and—"

"Sango," Kagome interjected. "Do you remember my cousin who got married last week?"

Sango nodded.

"The paper looked exactly like that."

"So...who was that man?"

"Who?"

"That devil you married," Sango said, referring to Kagome's previous description.

Kagome sat wordless for a minute as she tried to remember his name. "I think it was Sesshou-something," she said finally.

"What do you mean you _think_?"

"I was confused at that moment! Beyond confused, even! I didn't exactly remember the details in the paper. I just knew he was a stranger and…"

"You don't _know_ his name? Kagome, are you sane?"

"Actually, after waking up this morning, I don't think I am."

"Then tell me, how will we find that man?"

"Check the registration office?" Kagome suggested meekly.

A second passed before Sango said, "Oh, right. It's good to know you haven't completely lost it. At least now I know why you didn't go home last night."

"How did you know?"

"Souta called me to ask if you were sleeping over."

"Oh, gooses, Souta!"

Sango raised a brow. "You forgot you had a brother? Kagome, you amaze me."

Kagome groped for her cell phone inside her bag. "I wasn't exactly in my right state of mind when Pandora's box was shoved into my arms and forced opened in my face." Kagome dialed her brother's number and waited for him to answer from the other line. "Yes, Souta? It's me! Yes, yes, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to. I got drunk somewhere in the middle of last night and well, things happened. No, don't worry. I'm not in the police station. I'm with Sango. No! Nothing happened…anyway, what did you eat for dinner? There were noodles in the ref. You _cook_? How come _I_ never knew you cooked? I'm your sister! How dare you keep such a thing from me! No! Well, yeah, but…OK. Alright. See you later."

Sango watched her friend put her phone back in her bag. "So, what did he say?"

"He _knows_ how to cook," Kagome said, quite annoyed at having been excluded from knowing the fact. "And I've been doing all the cooking for the past how many years?"

"It's not as if he had a choice. You _like_ cooking. No, actually you _love_ it. It's your anti-stressor," Sango said as a matter-of-fact. "Why didn't you tell your brother about the 'dilemma'?"

"I think it's better to tell him if I'm a hundred and fifty percent sure."

"So, what do you want to do now? Your brother knows you're still alive, you're married although we're still not 'a hundred and fifty percent' sure, so what's next?"

"We're going to the registration office. I'm proving that that paper _was _legal."******  
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"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama?" a voice spoke over the phone. "I have it."******  
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_to be continued…_

_Last edited: April 16, 2007  
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	3. Chapter 3: Reality Check

STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY: Inuyasha and all its characters do not belong to me. They belong to their rightful owner, Rumiko Takahashi. This is for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.

**Title:** In Pursuit of Happiness  
**Author:** Gladiel  
**Series:** Inuyasha  
**Genre: **Romance, Humor  
**Pairing: **Sesshoumaru x Kagome  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Summary:** It's time to face the music.

**IN PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS**  
chapter three  
_reality check_

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"Higurashi Kagome. April 4, 1978," Sesshoumaru paused before saying, "So the woman's twenty-seven," he said to himself. "Parents: divorced." He stopped reading out loud and skimmed through the papers. "A temple? How odd," he remarked as he came upon her address. Could that possibly have anything to do with her wish that he be an angel hours ago? Certainly, that was an unusual peculiarity in a woman—a twenty-seven year-old woman, at least. A normal person wouldn't wake up wishing she lost her virginity to an angel, would she? His experience with women told him that his perception of "normality" was the same with the world. She was obviously an exception.

Sesshoumaru recalled the striking gray-blue eyes that searched for answers from his own pair of infuriated ones. After she left he hoped he'd gain some recollections of what happened last night but it had been a few hours since and none allowed themselves to be known to him. All his memories of the night before stubbornly refused to be remembered and that fact irked him.

Sesshoumaru pushed back his chair and laid his back, the papers still on his right hand while his left arm rested on one of the chair's armrests. His gaze drifted on the white sheet of paper with perfectly black characters printed on it. He stayed unmoving for a few minutes, head bent in deep thought. His left arm moved as he raised his hand to rub his temples. It seemed like simply thinking that morning brought him a headache.

Jaken watched his boss sit wordlessly in front of the rich office desk. Something happened yesterday, he was sure. After his boss disappeared from the party, he anxiously replied to all the calls and questions by the company's guests and directors. He would never forget the feeling of being lost and in turmoil. It was as if he was helpless without the confidence brought about by his employer's presence.

He couldn't ask what happened. After receiving the call from his boss that morning, he almost couldn't believe the order he received. "Higurashi Kagome" was certainly a woman's name. He didn't read through the profile, as it was not his place to do so, but it was the first time that Sesshoumaru-sama asked him to look for a woman's profile. At least, someone not connected to business. He would have understood if she had connections with the car industry, their affiliates, or the employees, but such a name did not strike familiarity with his mind. Who then was this Higurashi Kagome exactly?

Jaken stood, distressed, as he watched his boss contemplate on a matter unknown to him. He couldn't take it anymore. The suspense was similar to watching a horror movie where he sat uncomfortably in the movie house's chair, waiting for disaster to strike an unfortunate victim. He took a deep breath before finally asking, "Is there something wrong, Sesshoumaru-sama? Did I bring you the wrong profile?" His voice was tinged with worry and stress as he fidgeted with a pen he held on his hand.

Slightly startled by the broken silence, Sesshoumaru blinked before giving a negative answer. "No, that's not it. The information you brought me is sufficient and precise." Sesshoumaru stood up, inserted the stapled papers back into the brown envelope that previously rested on the table, and headed towards the door.

"Jaken, we're going."

"Ah—ah, but Sesshoumaru-sama! You have just arrived!" he tried to reason as he rushed out of the room, following his boss who was already a few steps ahead of him.

"I have an urgent business at hand. Have Enju move my appointments and meetings from today to Tuesday."

Jaken was confused. What happened exactly that his boss had to move _everything_? "Tuesday is—is two days after today—"

"I am very much aware of that. If Tuesday would not be able to hold them all, have the others moved any time this week," he said coolly.

"Would it not be difficult for the—"

"Jaken, do it."

"Y—yes!" He nearly dropped his mobile at the sound of his employer's voice. With trembling fingers he dialed the said secretary's number. "Enju? Did you—? No, Sesshoumaru-sama is canceling all booked plans for today. He said to move everything to Tuesday or any day after. No, no! Yes, that would be all. Just do it!" Jaken barked before hanging up.

Jaken was still confused as to where his boss was going but he followed Sesshoumaru nonetheless.******  
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"Um…excuse me!" A man stood outside of the shrine, quite unsure about what he was doing at the present moment. He tilted his head to the left and his dark-brown tresses followed the movement. He wore a simple brown shirt with white text that said _'Banana Republic'_. His pants were beige and ironed, nothing baggy but they were impeccably neat. "Is anyone home?" he called out again.

A face that held a boyish grin soon opened the front door. It was a young teenage boy with messy dark hair and black eyes that winkled with mischief. "Ah, Houjou-nii!" The boy recognized the man that stood by the shrine, a plastic bag with packaged goods on one hand.

"Is your Kagome-nee inside?" Houjou asked.

Souta frowned. "Oh, she's not here yet but…do you need anything?"

Houjou's shoulders slumped but his face was an open-book of disappointment. Souta knew Houjou had a crush on his sister and he wasn't blind to the fact that his sister had never thought of the man other than a friend. Souta shook his head. Houjou had been trying to win his sister's affection for many years now and he still couldn't see any signs of giving up. Souta was sure that one day, reality would bite him quite badly and shake him from the dream of having a couple-like relationship with Kagome.

"Ah, nothing really. I was just going to return these DVDs…" Houjou's voice trailed as his glance shifted to the plastic bag on his hand.

"Well, if that's it then I'll take those and give them to Kagome-nee when she returns," Souta offered as he lifted his hand to take the package.

Houjou nodded in gratitude and gave it to him. "Do you know when your sister will be back?" he inquired.

Souta shrugged. "Not really. She didn't come home last night but she'd probably be coming home today. Kagome-nee _always_ cooked on weekends."

An anguished frown flashed on Houjou's face when Souta mentioned his sister's absence the night before. "A—ah, I see…"

Souta realized his volunteered information was not exactly good news for the older man and tried to console him a bit, albeit quite teasingly. "Don't worry, she's still a virgin. I'm sure of it. Kagome-nee had _never _been interested in men."

Houjou nodded. He wasn't sure if Souta's statement brought reassurance or disappointment.******  
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"Well?" Sango asked.

"Well?" Kagome repeated.

"_Well_?" Sango asked again, slowly.

"Well _what_?"

The two women were now climbing up the hundreds of steps to the shrine. Kagome, who was used to it having climbed up and down from it daily, was marching upwards as if it was any thirty-step staircase. Meanwhile, Sango lagged a little behind, finding torture in each step she made.

"We came, we saw, we conquered. You're married, we're a hundred and fifty percent sure, and we're walking, or rather_ climbing_, to your house."

"I'm not." Kagome kept her head strained upward. "I'm happily single and marriage-free. I'm a hundred-percent normal adult!"

"You aren't single! Face it Kago-chan! I thought we went to the office to prove you _were_ married."

Kagome faltered. "Don't call me Kago-chan! I'm trying to live life believing I'm _not_ so the least you could do is to _cooperate _with me."

"Kagome, you know, that really _isn't_ healthy."

"Until I am officially divorced, I'm going to _dream_ being single," she pushed stubbornly.

"As your friend, it is my unfortunate duty to tell you that something _always_ goes wrong when you're in dreamland. Illusion Island, if that's what you prefer to call it."

"Don't worry! I'm sure this time's different," Kagome said with feigned confidence. "It wasn't as if marrying a stranger was the worst mistake I ever did in my life."

"I sure hope so," Sango muttered under her breath. She pulled her right leg and forced herself to complete the last step of the steep plane to the shrine. "And to think I almost forgot why we used to always hang out at my house," she managed to say in sudden realization, taking in air in huge amounts. "I'm," she breathed in and out, "definitely _not_ fit. I hear the elevator singing sweet nothings."

"These steps are my everyday-reminder that some people like me aren't always lucky in life," Kagome said proudly as she stretched her arms and rubbed her legs.

"I can't believe _you're _saying that."

"You just don't know that I'm—" Kagome stopped and paused to look at her, "apparently jobless, unemployed, without financial stability, deprived of satisfaction and contentment, buried with stress and worry, _and_ completely destitute."

"Destitute? Now _that's_ going a little to far. How'd it happen?"

"I tried to defend an employee. Got fired in the process," Kagome answered dully.

"I've been telling you ever since you got into that fight in high school that one day your sense of justice will bring you big trouble."

"I appreciate the reminder but until I find a job, I _am_ destitute. How will I send my brother to college with zero yen a month? My bills, the food, everything! And there's the stupid debt," Kagome groaned.

"How long have you been paying that anyway?"

"Five months. But it seemed like _years _to me. If only my stupid father didn't disappear. Mama's not here either."

"As you said, some people aren't lucky."

"Shut up."

"You know those pleasure-giving guys that become really rich by being all handsome and sexy for all those popular, rich women? Why not become one? A female one?"

"Shut up. If there's any other family weirder than mine then I'd love to meet them."

Sango laughed. "Don't forget to introduce me, 'kay?"

They stopped their conversation the moment they spotted Kagome's younger brother sitting down eyes closed on the steps of the shrine itself. He was wearing his earphones and as Kagome approached him, she heard the faint sounds of rock music from them.

"Poke him," Sango mouthed to Kagome.

Kagome grinned and her eyes twinkled wickedly. She reached out forward, bent down, and pinched her brother's nose with all the force her fingers could bring. "I'm-home!"

Souta's eyes snapped open accompanied by an execration. "Shit!" Blazing eyes glared at Kagome but upon realizing it was his sister he only said, "Can you greet people 'I'm home' _normally_?"

Kagome sighed dramatically. "I've given up being normal ten years ago. It's too tedious trying to be one."

_What did I do to deserve such a sister?_

And as if she possessed telepathic powers, Kagome said to him, "You didn't do anything, dear. It's in the genes."

Souta sat up properly and greeted Sango before asking, "What're you guys doing here?"

"I _live_ here," Kagome pointed out.

"She needs to cook," Sango said instead.

"Oh," Souta nodded in understanding.

"I don't _need _to cook!" Kagome protested. "Especially now that my lovely brother _knows_ how to already, he'll be doing the cooking from this day onwards."

"Yup. She needs to," Sango and Souta said in unison.

If anything, Souta was sure about the one big thing that eased his sister's stress. Sure, she cooked common dishes, many of which were imperfect even, but it calmed her down nonetheless.

"Ah!" Souta said as he suddenly remembered something. "Kagome-nee, Houjou-nii came by earlier."

"He probably went to return the DVDs," Kagome explained voluntarily. Sango shot her friend a teasing glance that forced Kagome to say, "I am _not_ interested."

"They're inside," continued Souta.

"Did he need anything else?"

"No, but where exactly were you yesterday?" her brother inquired. "I told Houjou-nii that you spent the night someplace else."

"He _has_ to give up after that one," said Sango knowingly.

"I assured him Kagome-nee was still a virgin and isn't interested in men though."

"Souta!" Kagome cried in disbelief. If she wrote a book on 'What Little Brothers Secretly Shared with Strangers,' it would be on that list.

"What? It's the truth anyway," the younger man shrugged.

Sango grinned, "Maybe not anymore. It appears that your sister isn't interested in the opposite sex _only _when she isn't drunk."

After understanding the underlying meaning of the first sentence, Souta's eyes widened. "Are you kidding?"

"I'm hungry. Let's go inside. I want to eat something," Kagome said, hoping to stir away from the topic of the conversation. She did not like it's probable destination.

"Okay," Souta replied slowly. "So she really did do it," he said to himself, but loud enough for Kagome to hear.

His sister glared at him after catching the phrase. "What're you talking about?" she demanded.

"Nothing, nothing."

"C'mon Souta-kun," Sango said as she pushed him towards the back of the main shrine. "Your sister needs a full stomach before her divorce."

"_EH_?"******  
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"My sister's _married_?"

Brows wrinkled together and eyes closed, Kagome nodded.

"No party, no invitations, no _ring_…" For a moment Souta's mouth was left suspended in the open air before a laugh resounded from his lips. "Kagome-nee! You're the _best_!"

Kagome frowned. She expected sympathy, not laughter. It seemed that for her little brother, her situation was a fictional comedy.

He sobered up quickly before bending forward to pat his sister on the back. "Sorry, it was just _unbelievable_. I can't wait till Houjou-nii hears about _this_!"

"_DON'T_! Everything's a secret! A secret, a secret!" Kagome nearly shouted.

Souta pouted and muttered, "Kill-joy."

"If you were in my place, I'd like to see how _you'd _take it if I just announced to everyone your situation. 'Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Souta marries a stranger; what a stupid twit!'"

"If I'm going to make a profit out of that story then sure, count me in! We can tell the _world_, if you'd like."

Kagome sighed, fanning her hand. "Nevermind. You're too weird to have sense knocked into you."

"At least you and your brother have something in common," Sango tried to comfort her. "You're both on the _odd _side of the country's population, to put it lightly."

"Thanks," Kagome said dryly.

"Is he gay?" her brother asked.

"I...don't think so."

"Well, he did it with you. Either he's just drunk or he's bi." Sango offered a possible situation.

"So you're going to divorce the guy?" asked her brother.

"Of course! Sure, I'm probably insane, but I'm not _that_ crazy!"

"What if he was a serial killer?" Souta teased.

"Then so much the better!" she replied sardonically. "Money just landed on our doorstep. I'd turn him in and we'd get some super-big prize money to sustain our needs for the time being!"

"You know where he is? What's the guys name anyway?"

"Yokoba Sesshoumaru. I know where he is—at least, I have a vague recollection of it."

"You're going to look for him?"

"We're going to _find_ him. Look, find; there's a difference."

The sound of their literal doorbell interrupted the conversation of the three.

"You get it," Kagome said to Souta even before the younger boy could say anything.

Knowing it was a lost cause he stood up and obeyed.******  
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The shrine was as he imagined it to be: greenery was abundant and the place seemed unchanged from how it was decades ago. It was an old shrine and only minor indications of modernization. Despite the fact that he was standing at a place in Tokyo, trees were everywhere that it nearly gave the image of a forest mountain. The _torii_, two brown wooden pillars connected by an arc, seemed to lure him inside. It was an unpopular shrine and he assumed the people who visit it are normally those who live in the area. The _komainu_ looked fierce in their stone-gray color, lion-like dogs with exposed fangs, but the lifeless statues lacked the essence that brought out fear. Tall trees lined the left and right sides of the shrine while a looming ancient tree stood out from the rest of them.

He walked towards the back of the shrine where he guessed the woman must have taken residence. Behind him, Jaken followed with loyal attentiveness and tired legs accompanied by fatigued lungs. The smaller man still couldn't understand the point of the 'urgent' business, as his boss described it, but he couldn't ask Sesshoumaru-sama directly. He wondered if his employer was going to make an offer or worship in the shrine but after going past the _haiden_, he understood it must be something else.

Sesshoumaru stood outside what he assumed to be the woman's home. He couldn't see any signs of a modern doorbell and what he saw as its substitute was a hanging bronze bell at the right side of the house at the back. A tan rope hung from above and, with its use obvious to the naked eye, he pulled it.

A few seconds passed before he heard the sound of running footsteps. That someone slid open the door and he was greeted by a teenage boy with ruffled hair and curious crow-colored eyes.

"Who are you?" the boy asked him bluntly.

"I'm looking for Higurashi Kagome." ******  
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_to be continued…_

******TERMS: **

1._ Kagome-nee / Houjou-nii _- they are shortened names for 'Kagome onee-chan' and 'Houjou onii-san'.

2. _torii _- the 'gate' of shinto shrines which has two vertical pillars with two horizontal crossbeams.

3._ komainu_ - mythical lionlike dogs that serve as guardian figures of which one has its mouth open in a roar.

4._ haiden_ - the oratory or hall of worship in the shrine where offerings are made and rituals carried out. In a typical shrine visit, worshippers stand in front of the haiden, clap their hands and tug a rope attached to a bell to announce their arrival to the kami. They then put their palms together in front of their chin, make a short prayer and put money offering into a slatted wooden box.

(defenitions of terms 2-4 are from japan-zone dot com / omnibus / shrine dot shtml)  
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Please review!

_Last edited: April 16, 2007  
_


	4. Chapter 4: Proposals

STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY: Inuyasha and all its characters do not belong to me. They belong to their rightful owner, Rumiko Takahashi. This is for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.

**Title:** In Pursuit of Happiness  
**Author:** Gladiel  
**Series:** Inuyasha  
**Genre: **Romance, Humor  
**Pairing: **Sesshoumaru x Kagome  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Chapter Summary:** Better late than never.

**IN PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS  
**chapter four  
_proposals_

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"Higurashi Kagome? Are you _sure_?" Hot men did _not _look for her sister. Souta knew that much. He had lived with her for the past eighteen years and experience told him that.

"Do I seem to be uncertain of the identity of the person in question?"

"_What?_" If the man did not seem domineering, Souta swore he would ask him to speak in plain Japanese.

"Higurashi Kagome. Does she or does she not reside here?"

Was he a loan shark? Souta wondered because of the heavy aura the man emitted. If he was, he could understand why his sister was always fretting over their father's debt. But, Souta thought, it would be more logical to think that this man worked as a host in a club dedicated to the rich and famous. The unusual color of silver locks that fell almost perfectly down to the dark suit gave the impression of a man whose occupation involved a sexy body and lots of money.

He must be, Souta finally concluded, an infamous _sex god_.

Remembering his manners, or lack thereof, Souta bowed in apology. "Ah, I'm sorry! I'll call her right away, sex-god_-sama._" He did not wait for the older man's reply and instead ran out of sight.

"Impertinent boy!" Jaken, standing behind him, scolded.

Sesshoumaru stared intensely at the boy's fleeting figure. His insolence did not go unnoticed. He watched as he ran to the left and disappeared.

"Kagome-nee!" he heard the boy call. "There's a man looking for you!"

It was followed by a second of silence then loud laughter before he heard a female voice shout, "I did _not_!"

He admitted he was quite surprised at the presence of gaiety. He expected something more serious as a consequence of her realization that they were apparently married. The woman was, it seemed, quick to recover from the shock he witnessed only hours ago. Hopefully she wouldn't be accusing him of being a wingless seraphic figure or worse—a demon of seduction.

Where did _that_ thought come from?

He glared at the narrow and empty space in front of him. _Sex god_, was he? The title stripped him of every ounce of respect he had for himself. It blessed him with no honor whatsoever and Sesshoumaru decided that being called 'sex god' was an insult to his intellect and person.

"Kagome!" he heard another woman's voice shout. "There's a man looking or you out there who isn't Houjou or the mailman and you're walking as if you're on a stroll at the park!"

"What's your point?" The voice was familiar and he recognized it as the voice of the woman who woke him up that morning. She was annoyed.

"My point was," answered the other woman, "You still have sex appeal."

Just when Sesshoumaru thought they'd go on bickering, forgetting that he was waiting outside the door, a familiar face suddenly appeared and greeted him with a cheerful smile. "Good afternoon! Please don't mind all the noise. It's simply the television loud and on at channel sixty-seven. How may I help you—" Kagome froze midway when she realized the person she was talking to.

The pleasant smile was suddenly swept away by a blank expression before she quickly pulled the door close. It took less than a minute before Sesshoumaru faced the wooden sliding door. His eyes narrowed and Jaken gasped, insulted. "How dare that woman!"

Half a second passed and the door slid open again with Kagome still staring blankly at him.

"I am here to—" but before Sesshoumaru could explain completely, the door slammed shut on his face again. He grunted in impatience while he waited for the door to slide open for the third time. As expected, Kagome opened it but now her expression was different. She stood frozen and gaping before trying to pull the door close. This time, however, Sesshoumaru stopped her in the nick of time by holding the door with his right hand and blocking it with his right foot.

"I already acknowledge the unmistakable fact that we are married, Higurashi," he finally completed. She clamped her mouth together and blinked. "Good for you, now bye!" But her strength did not match his and the door refused to close.

"Stop playing childish games," Sesshoumaru spat coldly. "That will not get you anywhere. I'm here to make a proposal." He kept his hand firmly on the door with a foot in between for reassurance. Goodness knows what the woman could _actually _do.

"A _proposal_?" she asked and bitter laughter followed. "Isn't it a tad too late for _that_?" Her gaze was filled with distrust, but at least she was listening.

He wished she wouldn't lose her sanity before he finished giving her the idea that occurred to him, which was the primary reason for their visit. "Of course I meant something else," he calmly explained.

Meanwhile, Jaken looked at his boss for an explanation. "Sesshoumaru-sama, what do you mean '_married_'?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What did you say?" a strange woman popped out behind Kagome. He assumed it was the owner of the teasing voice he heard earlier. "You said _you're_ married to _her_?"

Sesshoumaru brushed the stranger's presence aside. He needed to talk to the Higurashi woman, not some meddling stranger.

"It really is nice meeting you again but as you can see, I don't really need angels flying down from heaven, so good bye!" Kagome said, smiling sweetly at him as she tried to close the door, but, again, with no avail.

"It's _him_? And I thought you said he was the _devil_!" her best friend asked, refusing to believe. "Unless it was a _hot_ devil but--why are you asking him to go away? You said you'd find him! Isn't this the next best thing: arriving at your doorstep?"

"Sango, what I _said_ I'm going to do, what I _want _to do, and what I'm _doing_ are three different things. This is one of the differences."

"Kagome-nee, what exactly _did_ you do?" her brother who greeted Sesshoumaru earlier joined in.

Oh, good. More people.

"Shut up!" Pressured by all the interrogation, Kagome pushed the door wide open and shouted clearly. "All right! All right! This man," she said, looking at Sesshoumaru and then back at them, "is my husband."

For a moment nobody said anything. The uncomfortable silence was broken by a thud and their attention was grabbed by the fainting figure behind Sesshoumaru.

Jaken was sprawled on the floor, unconscious.

"Is he dead?" Kagome asked, staring wide-eyed at Jaken's unmoving body. She shifted her gaze to Sesshoumaru. "_You're_ a serial killer?"******  
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Kagome sat across Sesshoumaru with a table in between them. Souta sat at her left and Sango at her right. Jaken, who had now recovered from his laps in consciousness, sat behind Sesshoumaru's right.

"Um…" Kagome fidgeted with the folds of her shirt. She looked sideways at Sango. Well, they're all inside the house causing less trouble than when they were outside it, but the silence proved to be too heavy for comfort. Kagome breathed in and out before deciding to introduce her two companions.

"This is Souta, my brother," she introduced as she lifted her left hand and motioned to her left, "and Sango, my best friend," motioning her hand to her right. "Souta, Sango," she addressed the two, "this is um…" she trailed, unsure at what to say. Was she to call him _'husband' _or _'Sesshoumaru' _or _'Yokoba'_...what? It wasn't as if they had a previous encounter that would determine how close their acquaintance was.

"Forgive the late introduction. My name is Yokoba Sesshoumaru," he volunteered instead, nodding to the two. "This is Jaken, my personal assistant. Nice to meet you," he bowed his head. His voice lacked the warmth of friendly invitation that at first Sango and Souta were unsure of what to say.

Jaken's face had an obvious expression of displeasure. He would never approve of this woman as Sesshoumaru-sama's wife! She was a nobody and it was obvious to the eyes of anyone that she lacked refinement, grace, and beauty. No, that woman was not worthy of Sesshoumaru-sama.

"Uh, yeah, nice to meet you too," Sango said a bit nervously. "You must excuse Kagome's unusual state of mind," she continued. "You see, it isn't everyday she, uh, gets married with, um, strangers."

The woman's friend had a point. Given their circumstances, he shouldn't blame the laced insanity in her character. Certainly, that was simply a side effect of the sudden situation she found herself in.

There was something imposing about him, Sango thought, and if she hasn't seen Kagome in her silly mode in front of him, she'd be half-scared by now. He held great pride and, by the way he dressed and his confidence with every movement and tone of voice, it was as if a prince stepped into the house.

"Yokoba?" Kagome asked, stunned. "As in Yokoba Group of Companies, _the_ international Yokoba Inc., or just a nobody Yokoba?"

It was amusing, how she put it. "Yokoba Inc.," he replied.

Jaken let out a "humph". Now that they knew of his boss' status, he expected better treatment and more respect towards him and his employer.

"Kagome-nee, does he mean 'Yokoba' like the cars and the manufacturing trucks?" Souta asked, awed. It was impossible, wasn't it? Normal people like them don't usually marry company heirs, do they? But then again, he reminded himself, his sister was hardly someone he'd call 'normal'. Or their family for that matter.

"You heard the guy…" Kagome mumbled. If he was _that_ Yokoba, then what were the chances that they meet in the same bar? He was a prince and she a commoner. What exactly happened last night?

"If you marry men like him every time you don't come hope at night then you should do it more often, Kagome-nee," her brother winked.

"You idiot!" she scolded and blushed in embarrassment.

Her brother knew about the events that happened? How much of her private life had she shared with her inmates? Sesshoumaru eyed Kagome, wondering how much she remembered. The first time he saw her, brain functioning almost excellently that is, she gave the impression she knew _nothing_. That made two of them. Was it a wrong decision to assume that she remembered even a fraction of the incident?

"Please, make yourself at home. And please forgive me for my lack of manners," Souta bowed formally after realizing the prestige this man before him held. Sesshoumaru nodded, as an acceptance of the apology.

Kagome looked at Souta, her eyes questioning her brother. She didn't say anything, fearing that a confessed truth would ruin the mood. "Would you like some tea?" she offered instead.

"No, you don't need to bother," was his simple reply.

"Oh, but I insist!"

"We'll get the tea!" Sango suggested. She stood up and pulled Souta with her.

"Hey!" complained the younger boy. "I didn't say I was going to get it with you!" He tried to pull his arm away from her grasp.

"Just come with me!" Sango said without losing her grip on his arm. "We. Need. To. Go."

"But I still want to ask him—" he stopped before adding in a whisper, "He might be _gay_! Sango-nee, wouldn't _that_ be a problem?"

"Souta, please go," Kagome finally said, glaring at him. Her brother's so-called 'whisper' was loud enough for the other party to hear, she was sure. She noticed Sesshoumaru's controlled expression and Jaken's struggle not to give any of them a lecture.

"Aw, darn." With a feigned pout, he left the room with Sango. Kagome, Sesshoumaru, and Jaken watched the two and waited for the sounds of footsteps to die away.

"You told your family about the unintended matrimonial ceremony last night?"

"Matrimonial ceremony? Can you at just say 'marriage'? Besides, it was less than a ceremony. It was more of signing papers or like a package being entrusted to another in that legal manner."

"You did, yes?" She wasn't answering his question.

"Whatever I know. I _had_ to explain. It's not as if it can be kept a secret _forever_. They were going to help me find you, too, but then you barged in so suddenly…" She noticed a slight hesitation from him before he asked, "And what did your brother say?"

"He didn't _say_ anything at first. You see…my brother's initial reaction was _laughter_."

"That was…" he paused, trying to consider the appropriate word. "That was comforting. He made no objections about the matter?"

"He only reminded me to make sure I didn't marry a homosexual. 'It doesn't matter if he's a bisexual, but at least make sure he isn't gay,' he said. Well, somewhat like that." Her reply left a needed explanation hanging in mid-air. His eyes inquired wordlessly, convinced that she should give a proper explanation, one that he would be able to understand.

"I don't know if you already knew, since for some mysterious reason you know exactly where I live, but you have the right to know anyway so I suppose I might as well explain it here and now."

He nodded - an encouragement for her to go on.

"You won't find my parents here. You may have guessed that much, yes?"

He nodded. He was expecting one or the other because the profile merely said 'divorced' but there were no signs of other inhabitants of the house in the temple. There were only a few pairs of footwear by the entrance that none of them belonged to any person older than the woman who sat across him and the boy who went with the friend to the kitchen.

"Well, the reason why my brother's concerned about your sexuality is because that was the issue that lead to my parents' divorce."

He couldn't understand everything yet, but given his intellectual capacity, he got the gist of it. "There is a certain…oddity about your parents?"

"My father's a homosexual and he divorced my mom after ten years of their marriage. It was too late when he realized that he went for the same gender, you know. Of course my mom never got over it. I mean, she probably would have understood if he left us for a _woman_ but she never got over the fact that papa left us for a _man_."

"Left us?"

"It was a year after that, uh, discovery of truth that they officially had their divorce. It was at first an affair before he went to live with this new lover of his. Recently he disappeared though, so I have no idea where he is."

"And your mother?"

"She and Grandpa are in Timbuktu," she answered absentmindedly.

Timbuktu? What was the woman's mother doing in _Africa_? Hopefully, not involved with any civil war. He doubted he'd be surprised if it was the case.

"Oh, not Timbuktu _exactly_. They're just somewhere in this friggin globe that I've lost track _where_."

"I see…" He contemplated for a moment. Sesshoumaru rarely acted upon impulse but considering his father's threat, he had not much of a choice. An _omiai _would be a process too tedious and too long if he were to still find a wife after divorcing this Higurashi woman. His father was serious and perhaps the only way to go about it was the idea he formed hours before. He believed in intuition even though he did not act upon it on impulse, and this time he did not feel dread or anything that he could name as such regarding the idea.

"About the proposal…" he brought the topic up, stopping when he saw Kagome's sarcastic look. "I was going to suggest you could treat this marriage as a _business_ proposal."

"Business," Kagome echoed. "Now _you're _talking. What do you mean 'business'?"

"A divorce would be a great hassle and, in a sense, also somewhat like a scandal."

"What?" She stared at him. What on earth was the man talking about?

"Could you not think of this arrangement as a marriage of convenience?"

"I want a divorce, not marriage!"

"Frankly speaking, a divorce may not be an excellent idea. It would not only trouble me but you as well. Although you seem fresh out of the mental hospital, I'm inclined to believe you're not." She opened her mouth to argue but he stopped her, saying, "Before you say anything, let me explain the proposal." Sesshoumaru did not like to repeat things; hence he was getting quite annoyed at her constant need for it. "I will give you a business proposal, woman, not the kind that springs from romance. If you would just _listen_, this will be over before you could say 'angel' _again_." He watched her take a deep breath and nod. "I'd like us to stay married until my father has lived his life."

Her gaze labeled him with distrust. "Meaning until he dies."

"Until he passes away," he affirmed.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken interrupted. Sesshoumaru silenced him with a look.

"Why? Is he dying and longing to see his son finally settled before he…"

"No. He's in perfectly good health."

"What? Then what's the problem? How long exactly do you want us to stay married?" Her eyes revealed a wide-eyed, naked shock.

"That's the uncertain part. But if you're willing to treat this whole situation as a business agreement, then I can arrange for some benefits for your part."

"Benefits?"

He nodded. "You, of course, will have free lodging. Although I can provide you your own apartment, my father would expect that we live together. But you shall receive five hundred thousand yen per month to pay for your own personal expenditures. It would not cover any professional or other expenses that I will be spending for your role as a wife."

"I get to keep five hundred thousand yen every month? Like an allowance?"

He nodded.

"Why should I…" she wanted to finish with 'accept' but then she suddenly remembered one possible reason for all that had happened: she was currently unemployed. Having worked in the Human Resources department of the company in which she was previously employed, she one day sided with an employee they wanted to fire and she herself got fired in the process. "Why are you offering me this?" she asked instead.

"That's not your business. I'm merely hiring you in this convenient time and situation."

_Arrogant bastard._ "Look here," she glared at him. "If you're planning to go with this not-so-fake charade, then why not start acting like a husband right _now_? It means that _your_ business is my business, too, because as it happens I'm your _wife_."

He could not decide if it was luck or misfortune that he had accidentally married an intellectual. He offered her money, didn't he? Then why was the woman hesitating? Was the money not enough? He growled inwardly, annoyed by the fact that she was some fortune hunter—the kind of woman he detested.

"If it's not enough, I can add another hundred thousand to the proposed—"

"I don't care about the money!" she cut him off, irritated at his misconception. "I don't even _need_ that much—no wait, maybe I do. But that's_ not _the case! I just want to know _why,_" she paused to catch her breath. "Do you think it's normal that some guy offers you nearly half a million yen a month just to have you stick to being his wife when you're both strangers _and_ you can just get divorced to solve the problem?"

"It's not the money?" he asked, as if there it was the only reason she'd hesitate.

"Of course not! I would appreciate it, really, but frankly speaking, they're _too_ much. Despite the fact that I'm unemployed right now doesn't mean I can't make my own money!" Then, having caught the unintended confession, she stopped. "Oh dammit, you made me say it."

He was silent for a moment, absorbing what the woman just said and contemplating at the right course of action. She gained his deference at her honest confession about not caring about the money, for in that respect he trusted her. There was something about her character that glowed with honesty and marked her as trustworthy, despite her obvious oddity. "My father threatens to disown me if I am not married this fall," he finally explained.

So the man was destitute; Kagome was amused. It was already the middle of the summer.

"If that's all, then why not go for an _omiai_? You just look for a woman in a pamphlet, or resumes if you'd prefer to call them that."

"And meet up with each one. I realize it will take too much of my time. Since we've gone through the troubles of approving each one through a series of meetings and dinners, as well as the marriage registration, then why undo what had already happened? Time was spent and unlike money, it can never be bought back. Or do you have a boyfriend or fiancée?"

"Um, no. I'm—was—just single."

He was being practical about the whole thing that she thought he almost looked adorably cute going about it.

"So this ends when your father passes away?"

"Of course," he said, as if there was no other possible answer.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken rose in protest. He had been keeping his objections to himself for too long. "I hardly think this is the best way to please your father! Forgive my impertinence but I do not agree with this…this idea! Sesshoumaru-sama, certainly there would be a scandal!" He directed his attention to Kagome, seething. "This woman in front of you is hardly a respectable _lady_!"

Kagome stuck her tongue out at Jaken.

"Childish wench!"

"Jaken, this _is_ my decision." His tone held finality. There were no arguments to be made, no questions asked. "I will not have this woman insulted in my presence, do you understand?"

Jaken shifted his eyes downwards, silenced by the reminder of his employer's right to command and his duty to obey. He neither replied nor complained.

"Don't you need an…heir?" she asked uncomfortably.

He shrugged. "I do not concern myself with that right now."

"But won't your parents expect it?"

He was able to follow her train of thought and where the conversation was probably going. "If something will happen because of last night…" he started.

"No, don't worry. I doubt women usually get pregnant soon after the first try. I think," she said, albeit unsure about the facts. She looked eye-to-eye with him before asking in whispered tones, "Do you think we used _condoms_? I mean, we should have at least. Do you _remember_?"

Did he care to look at the trash, or even search the bed? No, for he didn't normally concern himself with such matters. He realized his mistake at overlooking that fact. "I could not remember entirely."

"You didn't either?" Her face gave the expression that mirrored agony. She slapped her forehead with her palm before exclaiming to no person in particular, "WHY? WHY DOES THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN? Is it even possible _not_ to remember SEX? Or the _first _time you had it?" She searched his eyes for answers he had nothing to give.

"Last night was most unusual," he tried to give a reasonable explanation. "It would help if you lessen your emotional outbursts—"

"I am _not_ emotional!" she protested. "I am perfectly healthy and _normal_!"

"Normal? Hardly. But in any case—"

"Never mind," she cut him off. Sesshoumaru noticed the frequency and scowled inwardly with distaste. "So, about that, um, salary, I don't need that much," she interjected. "Five hundred thousand yen is almost half a million and it really is just too much."

"Are you not in debt?" he raised a brow. "Five million, I heard."

"_Hey!_ How'd you know about that?" Kagome fumed. "It's as if you're already prying into my _private_ life without permission!"

"That is not important."

"Yes it is! What else do you know? For gods' sake, if you know where my parents are then tell _me_!"

"Frankly speaking, I only have a vague idea of your identity. As I work in a company with a financial branch, it is not too hard to look up your financial status."

"You shouldn't have! That's—that's a violation of my natural rights!"

"I am your husband," he reasoned.

Kagome stared at him. So the man was using _her_ tactics and reasoning for _his_ benefit? "But still!"

He regarded her in a composed and unconcerned manner, as if to say he did not regard any of his actions as ill or improper.

"Alright, you win this time, you devil," she declared with a huff. "I still won't have all of it. Half of it will do, as would a normal pay would be. I'll be working for some extra money since it would just bother me if I were to leech millions from you. I'd still be in debt and I can't view it in any other way." If she could receive two hundred thousand yen from him and work at the same time, she could earn double the money they receive each month.

"You can't work." The woman had pride but due to certain circumstances he could not allow it. "And you're getting the five hundred thousand every month. No more, no less."

"Why can't I work?" she asked, as if he longed for the impossible.

"Because you are _my _wife. For the time being, at least. You are expected to attend social gatherings and parties, be seen with me for a while, and be tutored on everything you need to perform your duties as such. Your duties will be to your role as one and I could scarcely believe that you'd find time to do otherwise."

Kagome couldn't believe her ears. What was he talking about?

"I don't understand," she said bluntly.

"Social parties and the such. You need to be seen and are expected to have certain qualities befitting to a man of my status, as most of the people of the business world like to indulge with gossip. They will see me as a man who married a stranger and they _will _ask questions. I could hardly imagine that you want to be the topic of all the gossip."

"Well, no…"

"There might be some, but if you will be able to project the woman that they expect then the issue would soon be overlooked and when things die down, it will be easier for you to spend your time as you like it."

Gods, the man had a point. He's some sort of prodigy, she then assumed, for everything he had been doing recently, she noticed he did it with elegance. Even the idea was not bad. In a most logical manner, he had foreseen the reaction of all people concerned upon discovering that he, an important man, married so suddenly. There was no engagement or ceremony, as a man of his status was expected to have. Certainly they would seek her out and judge her. It would give this man in front of her a harder time to manage with business if there were certain important people (who, now that she'd thought about it, might have felt offended for being excluded from an important event) that would make his time difficult because of a woman they deemed unworthy of him.

"Oh. So I see…I think I now understand what you want me to do," she finally said after a few moments of silence.

What had she to lose? She had a nonexistent boyfriend, freaking family members lost somewhere in the world, an unwelcome debt at her doorstep, and a brother to send to college.

"Higurashi Kagome," she held out her hand. "We have a deal."

Sesshoumaru took it and shook her hand as a closure of their deal, pleased. He never knew finding a wife was that easy.

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_to be continued…_

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** The fourth chapter, as promised. : ) I hope you guys enjoyed reading it. I'm sorry if there were any indications of being out of character. I really am trying to do my best with this so if you have any suggestions or criticisms, feel free to press the button below to review.

Thanks Voulez Vous for the review. It was greatly appreciated.

Please review!

_Last edited: April 16, 2007_


	5. Chapter 5: A Love Story

STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY: Inuyasha and all its characters do not belong to me. They belong to their rightful owner, Rumiko Takahashi. This is for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.

**Title:** In Pursuit of Happiness  
**Author:** Gladiel  
**Series:** Inuyasha  
**Genre: **Romance, Humor  
**Pairing: **Sesshoumaru x Kagome  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Chapter Summary:** It doesn't take much for a girl to dream. After all, it isn't always that you find yourself married to some _god_. The power of imagination is strong, even if it's only to fabricate stories and excuses about your love life - or lack thereof.

**IN PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS  
**chapter five  
_a love story  
_

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"We need to fabricate certain events," he said. Sesshoumaru sat on a chair in the Higurashi's dining table. It was an hour since Kagome offered lunch and he accepted. Her companion and brother left the house shortly after and they were given privacy to discuss certain matters he deemed important while he sent Jaken back to his office to handle a few of his affairs. "Do you have any suggestions?" he continued, after receiving a wordless answer.

"What?" Momentarily distracted, Kagome ceased playing with her dessert fork, stabbing the fluffy strawberry cheesecake splashed here and there with red syrup, as if it was something more than a cheesecake. "Oh, yes, of course. Make a story," she said without looking at him, after which she concentrated once again on her dessert.

God help her. If she can't control herself, she was more likely to ogle at Sesshoumaru's blinding presence. After all, it hadn't sunk in that the man was merely human. At least, not yet. She was still to plan how to go about that.

Sesshoumaru watched her silently. The woman was obviously paying more attention to the lifeless, unconsumed cake than the more immediate and pressing issues they have to talk about. He was more than ready to eat the cake himself, if only to divert her attention so that they can accomplish _something_. Was the woman really twenty-seven? If she was so in body, she seemed twenty-one in mind. But then again, he did think she was twenty-four or twenty-five at first.

"I would appreciate it if you stop stabbing the cake to death and start suggesting a place where we could have met."

Kagome decided it was time to devour the stupid cake. "The airport?" she offered, before finally taking a bite out of the creamy white.

"Someone would have seen if so," he pointed out. When he went abroad it was always due to business - and he never traveled alone.

"Then we could have met abroad," she amended.

He considered her idea. "What places have you visited?"

"I was sent to China once. We could have met there."

"True."

"And we don't even have to relate to others how. But in any case, if asked where, we could always say we met at Guangzhou."

"I was present at the Chinese Export Commodities Fair last spring."

"That settles it then," she said cheerfully. They were getting _somewhere_, and she was glad for that.

"But if we were pressed for details, we will say we met each other while walking leisurely one morning."

"And you were taking a break from your business meetings and was," Kagome tilted her head a little, thinking, "_smitten_ with me."

He arched an eyebrow. "Smitten?"

"You fell deeply, _helplessly_ in-love!"

"That would hardly suit my character," he said flatly.

"I was just kidding," Kagome retorted. "I'm not too stupid to assume you could actually…"

"Actually what?"

She shook her head. "Never mind. That was mean of me."

Sesshoumaru was not an imbecile. He knew exactly what the woman wanted to say, but he could not blame her for it. It was not as if he treated anyone in a friendly manner, much less with minute affection. Dismissing the sudden negative turn of the subject, he merely said, "Shamian Island."

"Pardon?"

"The precise and exact location where we met."

"Oh, the Daije! Meeting at a park lush with greens and flowers would be too romantic to be true, don't you think? Really screams the theme: 'Love at First Sight'."

He shot her a glare, displeased by her lack of seriousness on the subject.

"Alright, alright, I won't press the romance issue," she muttered. "I was hoping you'd play along a little."

"If you insist on it so much, then why are you not the party who fell 'deeply, _helplessly_ in-love'?" he asked, quoting her very words.

"It's more amusing to see _you_ in that situation. Face it."

"Regardless of what you think, we only _met_. There was no relationship involved."

"How did we become lovers then?"

"'Lovers'? We merely became good friends."

"Love doesn't really suit your idea, huh?"

"It isn't necessary for marriage."

"But can't we have one wild, midnight rendezvous?"

"No," he disagreed with no second thought.

Kagome sighed. Well, there went her fairytale with a handsome stranger. It wouldn't have been bad to have a fabricated lover-like relationship with an angel that walked on land. But still, there was no harm trying. "I mean, hey, if we're getting this on the papers – _if _– then we might as well make it worth talking about."

"That is a most illogical reasoning."

"Wouldn't people want to ask why you disappear every night? Why so cold to women? When in the end you're only a lonely man, pining after your Japanese lover in China?" Kagome said, eyes shining with mischievousness.

For the second time he glared at her. "I am not a man to be ridiculed."

Kagome pulled herself backward. "Ridiculed? Have you ever had a joke with a person? Every time I try to get into the business of kidding around, you decide to be so sensitive about the matter!"

"I am unaccustomed to jokes," he defended himself.

"What a _sad_ life you must have lived."

"And you lived most happily?"

"Certainly. Undoubtedly."

"You say that with confidence but did you not wallow yourself in alcohol the night before in order to forget your troubles?"

"What are you, a _lawyer_? How dare you interrogate me!"

"Then you admit you are not 'certainly' and 'undoubtedly' happy?"

"_My_ happiness is not _your _business!"

It finally dawned on him that they were arguing over a petty subject and Sesshoumaru shook his head in disapproval. "This is ridiculous."

"Of course! That's because I _am_ happy!"

"No. I meant to say that we are arguing over the circumstances that led us to a fated meeting. As _sensible_ adults, we should settle this in a more civil, adult-like fashion."

"Well, _you_ could be pretty childish," Kagome said, satisfied at believing it was the other man's fault that they had argued in the first place.

"Me? Odd I don't see the situation in a similar light."

"Alright, I _might_ have some hand in the matter. Now let's get over the subject of having met?"

He nodded. "That was the first wise suggestion I received from you today."

Kagome stared at him. No sense of humor? She did not say anything about his obvious sarcasm but instead continued with their discussion. "And after you went back to Japan, you saw me again and we went out a little. Wait, do you spend some nights alone?"

"Occasionally."

"Well, that settles it then. We ate out during those nights."

"And finally became friends," he nodded.

"And then you proposed to me."

"Because my father insisted I marry," he said, following her train of thought.

"Precisely!" Kagome grinned from ear to ear, pleased at the story they weaved together. Sesshoumaru had on his face a puzzled expression while wondering why the woman seemed so cheerful. Was she that simple-minded to find a mere story telling activity_ fun_?

There was a moment's pause before he finally said, "It's realistic. Somewhat convincing."

"Of course. It isn't impossible."

"But why did we marry without notice?"

"You've said it already. Your father threatened you. You merely took him seriously - not that there isn't any reason not to - so we went about it. And I didn't want something big of a wedding."

"It was your preference we were married with only a few witnesses?"

"That's right," she nodded.

"Someone will certainly question your eccentricity," he eyed her.

"And I thought you were convinced that it was not an argumentative matter," she muttered. "You realize I'm helping you save your butt here?"

"And you do realize I am _paying _you for this service."

"Well, no matter how much that is, I'm sure it's a couple of change compared to _your_ precious company," she retorted. "I'm used being poor - compared to _you_, of course - while you are _not_. To forfeit you of inheriting the company, wouldn't that affect your lifestyle? I'm assuming it's too grand as compared to _mine_."

"Are you saying five hundred thousand yen is not enough?" he said with obvious irritation.

"No! Of course not! I'm merely implying that..." she faltered a little, and Sesshoumaru's lips twitched lightly at that, "that...I'm helping you more than you are helping me."

"Oh really? And I assume you'd be able to pay five million yen_ alone_?"

"And I assume you'd be able to find a wife within the next three months," she challenged.

"With that I have no problem," he returned with an imperious hauteur. "There were already too many women killing each other for that post."

For a few seconds she stared at him, mouth open in indignation. "Oh you - you - you arrogant bastard! Well _I'm _a woman who wasn't initially looking for _that _position!"

"You seem to have fallen into this habit of name-calling."

"Oh, yes. I'm surprised you just noticed," Kagome replied, tone dry. "So our game of charades starts here?"

"Of course. First thing in the morning tomorrow, you will come with me to be seen."

"You know, if we pull this off, we can be stars of our own movie," she said, getting into a calmer mood.

"I am flattered by your offer but unfortunately, I must decline. The idea of working with you isn't exactly appealing."

It was Kagome's turn to glare at him. "Bastard. Wicked, infuriating bastard."

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_to be continued…_

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Sorry for the long delay. That was quite short and seems to be merely a filler for the story, but a significant event or two will most certainly happen in the future.

Please review!

_Last edited: April 16, 2007  
_


	6. Chapter 6: A Night with Chance

STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY: Inuyasha and all its characters do not belong to me. They belong to their rightful owner, Rumiko Takahashi. This is for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.

**Title:** In Pursuit of Happiness  
**Author:** Gladiel  
**Series:** Inuyasha  
**Genre: **Romance, Humor  
**Pairing: **Sesshoumaru x Kagome  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Chapter Summary:** Seize the day. Sometimes, it takes more than a kiss to prove you're a woman of the world.

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****IN PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS  
**chapter six  
_a night with chance_******  
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**"Souta, are you sure you're going to be alright?" Kagome glanced at her brother worriedly. It had just been a little over twenty-four hours since Kagome failed to wake up from a dream called 'marriage'. Sesshoumaru said she had to move in with him since that was what they were – a married couple. 'Married strangers' was more like it, but Kagome wasn't in the mood to argue anymore. 

"I'm okay. I'll be fine. I know how to cook, don't I?" Souta reassured his sister who was acting more like a mother at the moment. One would think it was _he_ who was going away, but even though their roles were unnatural, his sister was still acting like the mother left home whose son was going away to live on his own in this big, wide world.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I _forgot_."

Souta shook his head. If anything, it was his Kagome-nee-chan he had to worry about. He knew he was going to be perfectly fine living his adult years alone but his Kagome-nee…his Kagome-nee needed a little watchful eye from time to time. From all the things his sister did since she started getting herself into trouble in high school, getting married in an inebriated state was the one and only thing Souta never imagined to happen. And if his sister could actually do great feats like that, then there were no scrapes she wouldn't get herself into.

Kagome sighed. Who was she kidding? Leaving Souta alone wouldn't make much difference to the boy whom she still saw as the four-year-old kid who followed her like a duckling. It had been years and years since she knew he was capable of being independent – from the world and from her. Maybe it was she who tied him down. But her little brother understood her too much that he didn't even bother trying to change her accustomed lifestyle. They've been together for all those years that Kagome could hardly imagine living someplace else without him.

Souta spotted something lying on the floor, away from the field of World War III that was her room. No, sometimes, his sister was worse than a teenager.

"Kagome-nee, underwear on the floor."

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**"This is it," Kagome told herself. "Time to say goodbye to the Kagome of before – the single Kagome, the working Kagome, the sister, the daughter."

Kagome didn't fully understand yet why she agreed to the crazy proposal. She just knew that for some unknown reason, she agreed to tie herself to this man who cared for her like an important asset to his business and without a definite time limit. For all she knew, it'd take twenty more years until his good 'ol father dies and their contract was finalized in completion, but she said yes anyway.

Maybe there was something wrong about her sanity, after all.

She was like the Japan of the past, she who closed herself from the world and from foreign nations. She limited herself into being a capable office woman, a dependable sister, and the good daughter. She didn't really try to open other opportunities for herself. What kind of future did she want to achieve when she was that struggling high school girl whose problems were of the norm? It was simple – something that would be sufficient enough to provide for her brother and her family. She had no big dreams. She didn't aspire to be an international star, a ballerina dancer, a world-famous author, or a renowned pianist. She just wanted to be a woman in the background, a trustworthy friend, and to continue her everyday roles with efficiency.

But who was the woman who stood in front of an heir's door? She did not know the sort of future that awaited her behind the white-painted wood. She was a woman who already took a step forward to the abyss of unpredictability with the only security offered was a big hoard of money. Kagome was resolved to tuck away that girl who had been afraid of the world all the while. She was going to reform herself into a woman who takes chances, who takes big leaps, who lives her life by the words, "Carpe Diem."

And so with newfound courage, Kagome waited for the door to be opened. After all, Sesshoumaru was already informed beforehand (at the lobby floors below) that a certain Higurashi was there to meet his presence.

Soon enough, the door opened. A man, silver hair tied back with a few fringes covering a side of his face; immaculate and seraphic, it seemed as if he was opening the gates to Eden. "You're late."

Alright. The man opens the door and the first thing he says is, "You're late." Scratch the seraphic part. He's most definitely Hades in disguise, welcoming her to a banquet in hell.

"Well, unlike some supernatural seraphic beings, humans actually do take public transportation, a.k.a. the _bus_," she retorted.

Sesshoumaru was unaffected. "Still not over the seraph issue?"

"I _don't_ have seraph issues."

He arched an eyebrow. "I see."

"Now would you please let your _wife_ in?"

He harrumphed before letting the doors of his flat wide open. She left her shoes at the shoe rack by the entrance (which was made of some smooth reddish wood, she noticed) and pulled her bags inside.

She caught him looking at her expectedly, as if waiting for something.

"What?"

He eyed her luggage. "Is that all?"

She shrugged. "I left some at home, but these are most of what I'll be needing. I have a couple of books and prized possessions resting atop my desk but would you expect a person to move into _your_ flat in one go via a _bus_?"

"It's an interesting prospect."

"Then I'd appreciate it if you perform the experimentation on yourself and not on innocent people like me."

He nearly smirked. Kagome swore she saw those lips twitch. "Innocent? A fine description of a woman who, ahem, married herself to a stranger two nights ago."

Kagome ignored him, took her bags and, eager to stay as far from the maddening man as possible, marched straight to her left.

"Where are you going?" Sesshoumaru asked, amusement growing.

"To my room," she replied indifferently.

"To your right, Higurashi. Or do you want to sleep in my room again that badly?"

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Kagome stared at the black evening dress that greeted her upon entering her walk-in closet. She reached out to touch it and let her hands drift downwards against the dress, feeling the wisps of silky chiffon between her fingers. It had a halter neckline and its darkness was beaded with evening stars.

"It's beautiful…" she whispered.

Below it, dark-toned silver shoes waited patiently for a wearer.

"Wear that. We're going to a play sponsored by one of the company's affiliates, Daito Corp. There's this new actress they've been bragging about and attendance is mandatory."

Sesshoumaru's voice snapped her out of her reverie. Kagome turned around and saw him leaning against the closet doors.

"Oh."

"Someone will come for your hair and make-up later."

"Oh…How'd you know my size?" She hadn't tried the dress yet but she was almost sure it would fit her nicely, if not perfectly.

He shrugged. "I assumed."

"That was…very," Kagome furrowed her eyebrows, thinking of the right word to say, "talented of you," she said finally.

"I wouldn't be in this position if I weren't talented," he said dryly.

"I was _complimenting _you. The least you could do is say 'thanks'."

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"Why are we here again?" Kagome furiously whispered under her breath. The moment she stepped inside the gods-forsaken theater, eyes were quickly drawn towards her. Well, she really shouldn't expect any less standing beside Sesshoumaru. He was a god and she was…she was a mere worthless mortal who did not have any right to tread upon the ground he walked on – or at least most of the women around her thought.

"Social duty," he said curtly, before accepting another friendly greeting from an associate.

"Sesshoumaru! How good to see you here tonight!" said the man. He was wearing an evening tuxedo, his brown hair combed neatly backwards, and every little detail on his person neatly in place. Apparently, everyone in that place shared her husband's super powers of appearing neatly flawless, especially in social gatherings.

Sesshoumaru nodded and graciously offered a greeting. "Of course I wouldn't miss the play. Your new actress was superb, Sanaka. She has the potential to make it abroad."

The man nodded. "Yes, yes, I know. I wouldn't have let her join the company if so. I'm particularly fond of the group. The never failed to entertain me with their plays," he laughed, "that's why I've never been tired funding this theater group." Sanaka's attention drifted to the woman beside Sesshoumaru. "And who's this?"

Sesshoumaru smiled, a twitch of the lips that nearly raised Kagome's hair. "Let me introduce to you, Yokoba Kagome, my wife."

Kagome bowed, scowling inwardly at the man's reaction upon the sudden announcement of the news. Sanaka's jaws remained suspended on air for a full ten seconds before Kagome faked a cough and snapped the poor man from his untimely daze.

"W—wife? M—married?" his eyes moved swiftly from Kagome and back to Sesshoumaru. "B—but I haven't heard of any w—wedding. I—I should've sent something. Sesshoumaru, why didn't you say anything?" he stammered, afraid that he might have made a social error concerning marital social etiquette.

"It was of no consequence," Sesshoumaru brushed the issue indifferently. "My lovely wife here merely wanted it to be a surprise to father and she insisted going about the ceremony in a private fashion."

Mentally, Kagome barfed. _Lovely wife?_ Since when did the man beside her call his wife _'lovely'_? Instead, she laughed politely, "Unfortunately, I sometimes tend to act rather carelessly, and Sesshoumaru was kind enough to give me the liberties to plan our small private wedding."

"Then I must offer my congratulations!"

Soon, acquaintances, business partners, and even strangers started to approach the couple to offer words of congratulations, to ask questions, or to merely see what was the commotion.

"Who is this woman, Sesshoumaru?"

"Yokoba Kagome? That lovely dress suits you, mademoiselle." A kiss on the hand.

"Whose daughter?"

"When?"

"Was there a wedding?"

"You're quite the villain, Sesshoumaru. You just crushed my daughter's poor heart."

"I'm afraid I, too, apparently have the tendency to act based on my impulse," came Sesshoumaru's unruffled reply.

"I never thought _you'd _even get into the marriage business!"

"Where did you pick the lovely woman from?"

"I have never heard of her before."

Kagome realized that keeping up a cheerful smile was more tedious than reorganizing her bedroom. "Um, thanks. It really was sudden. Even I couldn't believe it!" Kagome bowed for the eighteenth time when suddenly someone shoved her forward and she jumped at an unexpected splash of cool liquid on her back. "Oh fu—what the—" Before she collided with Toshiba's President, however, Sesshoumaru managed to stretch out his arm and pull her back on her feet.

"Sorry," Kagome muttered. "Someone accidentally…" her voice trailed away as her eyes met a pair of uncomfortably dark ones. The woman, whose features were strikingly beautiful – her black tresses curled and flowing neatly at her back – and whose dress hugged her figures only a little too tightly, rolled her eyes and paused right across her. "Congratulations," the woman said, voice dipped with much malice and abhorrence that Kagome took a step back. Her eyes never left Kagome's while her blood-red lips thinned into a displeased line. The woman, satisfied at the effect she had on Kagome, marched with poise towards one of the tables.

"Your dress." Sesshoumaru's voice brought Kagome's attention back to him. She twisted to the right and saw a dark stain that was invariably obvious under the bright golden light. She winced. "It wasn't my fault! Someone _pushed_ me!" Her livid retort started to drive away the uncomfortable atmosphere Kagome previously felt at the presence of the cold woman whose eyes would pass well enough for a basilisk's.

Sanaka, still standing next to Sesshoumaru, smiled good-naturedly. "It's alright. Sesshoumaru, feel free to bring your wife home. If I just knew you were married recently, I never would've invited you here! Shouldn't you be in your honeymoon, though?"

Sesshoumaru regarded the topic with apathy. "I have quite a lot if issues to settle. The company's evaluating this year's performance and there are a number of meetings I have to attend, most of which are too important to postpone or miss. Perhaps some other time, we will tour France or Germany."

"Europe! Ah, yes, a most excellent choice!"

"Sanaka, if you don't mind," Sesshoumaru bowed.

"Don't worry," the good man reassured. "It would probably best for you to be absent for now. I'm sure the lot of us will be flocking to you and your lovely wife," he turned towards her. "Well, Mrs Yokoba, it seems to me you are a most extraordinary woman. And very beautiful as well."

Flattered, Kagome blushed. "I really don't think so, Mr. Sanaka." She shifted her gaze to Sesshoumaru and flinched under the heat of his gaze. Sesshoumaru was glowering behind Sanaka's back.

The man laughed. "Charming too. Well, Sesshoumaru, I shall be going," he winked at him. "Take care of your wife!"

Kagome almost wished he didn't leave. Now she's in for it.

******  
** -----------------------------------------******  
** ******  
**

"You ruined the dress," Sesshoumaru remarked noncommittally.

"The dry cleaners can fix them," Kagome said, unsure. "That's what they do, right?"

Sesshoumaru stared at the road, silent. They were both sitting inside the limousine, Sesshoumaru at the right and Kagome at the left.

"It wasn't my fault," she muttered. "I swear those people _hated _the fact that I was married to you. I'm sure they're driving pins into a voodoo doll that looks exactly like me this very second."

"I am perfectly convinced that it is impossible for any normal human being to produce a voodoo doll at exactly," he glanced at his watch, "ten minutes." He eyed her before saying, "Everyone congratulated you, did they not?"

Kagome laughed, bitter and hard. "The men, yes. But the _women_…gods, do you know how much _you're _lusted after?"

He shrugged. "Of course. That's precisely the reason why you're here. It's part of your role as a wife to keep them at bay."

"_That's_ part of my job description?"

"Naturally, yes. Do you need to ask?"

"Sesshoumaru, if you saw the _look_ of that woman, it would take more than an army to keep _her_ at bay."

"I'm certain you can manage. You've been handling this issue good enough, to say the least."

"Is that a _compliment_?"

He arched an eyebrow before saying, "That Sanaka was flirting." He said it in an offhanded manner, as if it didn't matter if it was his business partner or an old sickly man who flirted with her.

"He was just being friendly," Kagome defended.

Sesshoumaru scowled. "No, he wasn't. He was looking at your breasts while calling you 'extraordinary'."

"He was merely _complimenting_ me."

"And you blushed?" Sesshoumaru asked, displeased by her reaction.

"Well, I'm not used to it! And it's impossible! He's such a poor stuttering man when you suddenly announced the news of our marriage."

"He's a disgusting creature."

"How can you be so mean?" Kagome glared in indignation.

"Woman, you are too naïve."

"I'm not!"

"Prove it then," he challenged.

Kagome narrowed her eyes. Prove she wasn't naïve? How does one go about that?

"Well?"

"I'm twenty-seven."

"Your point being?"

"I'm at the age where a woman's supposed to know everything."

Sesshoumaru was not defeated. "There are a some women who have sex for the first time without even knowing that was _it_. And they're not high school students. Nor are they college students."

Kagome looked at him with disbelief. "Are you serious? Is that even _possible_?"

"Humph. Talking from experience, yes. I knew someone. She just realized it the moment her doctor told her she was pregnant."

Kagome furrowed her eyebrows. She still couldn't believe it but, yes, it may happen to extremely sheltered people, she supposed.

"I've seen...I've seen R-18 movies!"

He was unimpressed. "That doesn't say much."

"I can kiss," Kagome finally challenged.

He raised an eyebrow. "Everyone can do that, Higurashi. Even children can achieve that great feat you're bragging about."

"But I can kiss _really_ well." Actually, Kagome was not sure about that. Her first kiss was from a dog's, her second kiss was accidental - and it wasn't from the opposite sex - and the kisses after that were quite awkward in between. But it was too late to retract the words she carelessly said. No, her pride as a woman of the world rested on it.

Sesshoumaru wasn't saying anything but Kagome _knew_ what he was thinking. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"Of course not. Despite the fact that Japanese culture had changed magnanimously throughout the past fifty years, I do not think you are the sort of woman who goes around sleeping with men for a night. You believe in marriage before sex," he said as a matter-of-factly.

She could see triumph glimmering beneath perfectly gorgeous eyelashes. He felt triumphant. It irked her endlessly. Just because she was affected by Mr. Sanaka's compliments doesn't mean anything about her innocence. Breathing in deeply, Kagome leaned forward to do the one thing she could only think of.

She brushed her lips against his peach-colored once, pulled away, and then leaned back forward. Her weight pushed him backwards against soft leather. Sesshoumaru was taken aback. It was the last thing he expected the woman would do. He felt her tongue urging him to deepen the kiss, taunting him in an almost wanton-like manner. His hand moved toward the back of her dress, caressing the smooth whiteness of her skin. It seemed as if a divine connection existed between them and the childlike woman he married a day ago suddenly transformed into a temptress…

He pulled away abruptly, his composed mien ruffled by her rash actions.

"Enough."

Kagome, blushing like ripe red apples, turned away and stared outside the window. The scenery behind the glass passed her like a blur; a series of unidentifiable rows of buildings and masses of people.

"Did I piss you off?"

Sesshoumaru wanted to strangle her. Piss him off? She obviously did _not_ kiss men often. Silently furious - at himself or at her, Sesshoumaru could not decide - he refused to answer her inquiry.

An uncomfortable gravity settled between them and in wordless silence, they headed home.******  
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* * *

_to be continued… _

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** ******  
****AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Sorry for the extremely late update. Finals ended a week ago but I've been busy with dance auditions and some important activities lately, aside from a writer's block that refused to go away.

Anyway, I hope this chapter left you satisfied at least. : )

I want to say a big THANK YOU for all those who have reviewed so far. I really appreciate those comments and encouragements. : D Thank you, thank you, thank you! And to whoever nominated this for A Single Spark's Annual Fanfic Awards, **THANK YOU**! This is really a blissful feeling - to know that someone deemed this fic worthy enough to be nominated. : )

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**

By the way, if you think the story is unrealistic, in a sense that it's impossible to marry yourself to a stranger, then how about Imelda Marcos' first love as an example?

_"The couple wanted to marry, but had an impediment. Ariston had married a complete stranger while dazed with alcohol, and was trying to get an annulment at the time he courted Imelda." -- _The Rise and Fall of Imelda Marcos (1987); p.71

Well, that says much about being heavily inebriated. : P

_Last edited: April 16, 2007_


	7. Chapter 7: Allegations

STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY: Inuyasha and all its characters do not belong to me. They belong to their rightful owner, Rumiko Takahashi. This is for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.

**Title:** In Pursuit of Happiness  
**Author:** Gladiel  
**Series:** Inuyasha  
**Genre: **Romance, Humor  
**Pairing: **Sesshoumaru x Kagome  
**Rating:** M  
**Chapter Summary:** You should know better than to speculate about the gender preferences of your husband with your best friend.

**IN PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS  
**chapter seven  
_allegations_

_

* * *

_******  
**_  
_

"Well, we got into the society pages," Kagome said before taking a bite out of the golden piece of bread, fresh out of the toaster. She reached out for the bread knife, slid it against the pale yellow butter, and spread it on the bread before skimming the newsprint paper.

"_Mr. Sanaka remarks at the unmatchable talent of Kiryu Isami_," Kagome started to read, "_a young and beautiful actress who recently played Marie Antoinette at the Umiboshi Theatre Group's version of The Rose of Versailles_. And…eh! We have a picture here… It says, '_Yokoba Sesshoumaru appears with wife in the dinner party hosted by Mr. Sakara of Daito Corp_.'"

Sesshoumaru made no remark and instead satisfied himself by eating his breakfast undisturbed.

Kagome paused a moment to look at him. "Alright, the dress was partly my fault but if there's one bitch out there that would murder to ravish you, it would be _her_." Kagome could not forget the menacing glare Medusa gave her. If looks could kill, she probably needed a hoard of bodyguards to keep _that_ salient woman away. After failing to receive some sort of reply, she continued, "Do you know her? She was wearing a marine blue gown with a couple of glittering diamonds that formed a lovely flower pattern. She's a bit tall, too, and not the least bit likable."

"Hideki Kagura. A close relation of Hideki Naraku, I believe," was the impassive response. "She's one of those unpleasant women."

"So let me guess. She beds important men to help her cousin, if that's her relationship with this Naraku guy."

"Possibly."

Kagome furrowed her eyebrows. "You don't seem too wary about it."

"Should I?"

"Shouldn't you?"

"I am not fickle enough to fall into the clutches of a woman like her," he said, confidence unruffled.

"Okay, okay! Don't be too hot about it! I just thought that hey, you're a man. You're human, believe it or not! For all your robot-like qualities, there's still such a thing as instinct. _Wild animal instinct_. I just thought I'd give a fair warning!"

"The warning goes unneeded."

"I was only trying to help! Why do you always brush me away?" She stood up, grabbed the toast, and stormed to her room. From his seat, he watched her disappear before the door opened again. But she was then dressed to go outside, hair swept in a ponytail and clad in smart casual. "I'm going outside."

"Do I have to stop you?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Yes! No! Of course not!" Defiant eyes met his squarely.

No, the woman wasn't going to back down. The prognostications from her personality, his previous encounters with her, and even the little mishap three nights ago spelled out that much. The recollection of the kiss they shared distracted him and left him perturbed in his impending solitude.

"You have Chinese at two," he said coldly, before she marched out the door.

"Chinese. How could I forget?" She raised her head before giving him a firm and dramatic "Good bye!" in passable Mandarin.

As soon as he heard the door slam, without wincing in the process, he picked up his phone and pressed, '5'.

"_Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama?"_ came the other line.

"Follow her, Jaken."

******  
**-----------------------------------------  
******  
**

When Jaken was promoted as Sesshoumaru's man-of-everything, never did he imagine that he would someday baby-sit his employer's wife. He never predicted he'd be walking around, a suspicious character among the crowd, wearing a formal business suit and tailing after an insane woman. He never understood why she and Sesshoumaru-sama disagreed on nearly everything (except for keeping the marriage for various reasons, much to his horror) and why his boss put up with _her_. Sesshoumaru-sama could easily dismiss the woman with a wave of his hand and Jaken would be free of these grudged duties.

He hated the heat. He hated walking around without the progeny of the air conditioner around him. The car was out of the question; he was already conspicuous as it is. Why Sesshoumaru-sama wanted the woman followed was not place to ask or know but Jaken couldn't help to be bothered that getting a degree abroad merely landed him to a nanny's duty.

He saw the woman – Higurashi - enter the coffee shop. Alarmed by the prospect of losing her (and most likely his job), he followed suit after a minute. He sat on a table on the opposite side of the room from where she was sitting. A waitress greeted him and, anxious to get rid of her, he ordered, "Whatever it is they specialize." The woman looked at him weirdly before nodding. "Er, whatever you say, sir."

Opening the newspaper he brought with him, he glanced at Kagome's table from time to time. She was obviously meeting someone, he thought. For a moment, an overdose of imagination made him inclined to believe that his master's _wife_ was meeting another man. He scolded himself for thinking as thus, since Sesshoumaru-sama would never marry a woman like that! Never! Penniless with no name to bring with her, yes, but his master has eyes on trustworthy men. He would never have chosen Jaken if he didn't think him capable of doing anything.

The café bell rang as another person entered. It was a woman. She strolled straight to Kagome's table, much to Jaken's relief. He saw them order but no matter how much he strained his ears, he couldn't hear their discussion. In fear of being found out, he fought the temptation to situate himself at a closer distance and instead stayed at his table until Kagome saw it fit to leave.

******  
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******  
**

"Alright, Kagome, speak," Sango leaned forward. "What happened? I was starting to worry after my brain finally registered and implanted the fact that you no longer live with Souta!"

Kagome narrowed her eyes. "You make it sound as if I can't live on my own," she remarked in disbelief before taking a sip from the mocha frapucchino resting innocently at the table.

"Kagome, I know you're my best friend but we're more like sisters so it's my duty to tell you the truth. Yes. Without Souta to remind you to eat, breath, sleep, and stay alive – I'm nearly worried to hell."

"That's sweet, Sango."

"Sarcasm, sarcasm. Since when did you learn that?"

"Sesshoumaru delights in them."

Sango ooh-ed. "You're on a first-name basis?"

"No," Kagome started slowly. "Actually, he'd rather be called 'Sesshoumaru-sama' but omitting the '-sama' part makes me intentionally rude to him."

Sango looked at her with skepticism. "Right."

"Believe me, will you? The devil incarnate – don't give me that look because that's what _he_ is – calls me 'Higurashi'. I think it was established that everyone calls him 'Sesshoumaru-sama' because his father is the 'Yokoba-sama'."

"Sure; if you say so. But _why_ did you call me here?"

"I just need to vent out my rants."

Sango sliced a small part of the cake with her fork before asking, "So…aside from the disagreements, how is your married life?"

Kagome shrugged. "Pretty much the same. He's indifferent to everything to the point of driving me nuts. Lots of women lust after him, you know? I saw the hoard when we were invited to this formal dinner a few days ago."

Sango grinned. "I'm not surprised. He does look hot, you have to admit."

"Hmm…."

"What? Don't tell me you never thought of him without the word 'sexy' popping in involuntarily into your brain!"

"He _is_ attractive, I won't deny that. But it's as if I've seen him somewhere before…I just can't place where."

"What do you mean?"

"I think it's the hair. You don't always see men with nearly silver-like hair these days."

"Do you think it's a genetic error?"

"Probably."

Sango looked disturbed and Kagome noticed this with alarm. "Oh, gods, I've been talking about me, me, me, that I forgot about you! How are you and Miroku?"

Sango smiled. "Just dandy."

"_Dandy_? All you can say is _dandy_?"

"The sex is great?" Sango ventured with a laugh.

Kagome joined her. "I was waiting to hear that. For all I care about sex after marriage, I believe you and Miroku are made for each other. How come I don't hear wedding bells ringing?"

"Marriage is a different issue. He's always offering in that joking way, but I just need time to think about it."

Kagome nodded, still smiling albeit a tad mischievously.

"Look, Kagome, I can't help but ask…did anything happen to you?"

"Huh?"

"You know, when a man and a woman lives under the same roof?"

Kagome blushed in embarrassment. "Of course not!" She reached for the white table napkin and wiped her fingers on it before crumpling it and bringing it onto her lap. She played with the frail paper. "We're not really a couple, remember?"

Sango was not satisfied. "But you're a man and a woman! Won't at least nature work?"

Kagome shook her head. She feared confessing the little event that happened in the car but since it was Sango…of course Sango would understand. "Just a kiss," she said finally.

"A kiss? Nothing more?"

Kagome was nearly fed up with Sango's pushing. "Of course nothing more! What did you expect? What were you _possibly_ waiting for me to _say_?"

"And he wasn't even…aroused with that kiss?"

Kagome glared. "How should I know? Do I have past experiences to compare it with?"

Sango sighed and sat back against the chair. "I was thinking that since this is a marriage of convenience you have, you might be spending some more intimate nights of convenience with him as well. I mean, he's a man."

"I can't believe you thought that would happen!" Kagome replied, nearly indignant. "He even told me he wouldn't fall for a sexy seductress and I'm hardly more tempting."

Sango was unconvinced. "Why do you sound bitter about it?"

"I _don't_! I just didn't expect you to think of any relationship between me and the devil incarnate."

Sango contemplated on the facts that were presented to her. "He wasn't interested with any woman?" she asked suddenly.

"None that I know of," Kagome replied in a more calm and imperturbable manner.

"Did it ever occur to you that he's _you know_…"

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked in failing to catch the gist of the conversation. She reached for her frapucchino again and sipped.

Sango lowered her voice. "That _you know_; he's a _homo_."

Upon hearing the words, Kagome lurched forward, coughing. "Damn you Sango!" she remarked in between coughs. "That almost killed me!"

"Sorry," Sango replied sincerely. "But you know, it just fits everything. Why he hadn't married before, even if his father was already forcing him; why all these women never attracted him, or why he never even tried to do something with you. See?"

"So you're saying he's gay?"

"Most likely. You know what they say about beautiful men. It's either they're taken or they're gay."

"They say that?"

"_Yes,_" Sango said with emphasis, as if it was an inborn knowledge. "And he isn't taken – before you, of course. So that leaves us to the fact that he _is _gay." 

"But, Sango, he did _it_ with me," Kagome pointed out.

"Kagome, dear, Didn't you explain to me that he was saying his father _threatened_ him? When you're drunk, you do things and sometimes you become impulsive. You make impetuous decisions under the influence of alcohol. Sanity has no control over you. In fact, sometimes it ceases to exist. _You_ married him that night when, if you were in a more stable and normal state of mind, you never would. You wouldn't even think it, much less_ imagine_ it happening."

Kagome stayed silent.

"You'd _imagine_ it?" Sango asked, incredulous.

"Well, I _did_ think he was a god at first," Kagome faltered.

"But of course, you didn't expect it to happen for real, right?"

"That's right!" Kagome followed suit.

She thought about Sango's suggestions for a moment. It really _did_ fit like a puzzle. No wonder he was so calm about the Kagura woman! And he _was _infuriated at her for kissing him. Sure, they did do it _once_ - but they were both inebriated at that particular time. For all she knew, he was experiencing patriarchal pressure under the demands of his father. Who wouldn't want a grandson from the eldest brother?

Kagome was convinced that Sango's verdict was somehow probably unmistakable.

"Gods, if that's true, I just hope you opens up to me. Do I look like I'm the type of person who has a prejudice against homos?"

"Oh, lords, no. Of course not."

Kagome was relieved. "I'd at least like to be friends. After all, we're in this sticky situation together."

"Well, you're not exactly the easiest person to live with."

Kagome frowned. There _was_ one thing that disturbed her to no end, now that this sudden truth had been revealed.

"Sango?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think Sesshoumaru and Jaken…?"  
******  
**

* * *

_to be continued…_

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Har, hope you liked the way this chapter turned out. :) Sesshoumaru's gay? Haha! Oh, the chaos!

I can't promise anyone when the next update will be but I can reassure you that I haven't forgotten about this pet project. Again, thanks for those who have reviewed and are reading this fic thus far. :) I'm really glad that most of you are enjoying it.

Please review!

_Last edited: April 16, 2007 _


	8. Chapter 8: Escapades

STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY: Inuyasha and all its characters do not belong to me. They belong to their rightful owner, Rumiko Takahashi. This is for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.

**Title:** In Pursuit of Happiness  
**Author:** Gladiel  
**Series:** Inuyasha  
**Genre: **Romance, Humor  
**Pairing: **Sesshoumaru x Kagome  
**Rating:** M  
**Chapter Summary:** Who knew old friends and wives can become united under one subject: fashion?

**IN PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS**  
chapter eight  
_escapades_

_

* * *

_******  
**_  
_

"You really have to thank me for this," Sango eyed Miroku as he flipped through the channels.

"Hm? For what?" he answered absent-mindedly, devouring popcorn like a dragon eating townspeople. He licked his lips. "Butter."

"Kagome agreed to tell you," Sango continued without looking at him.

Miroku perked up. Something was going on, as he suspected, but neither of the women has told him something. "What exactly is going on?"

"Well, you'd be surprised but…"

"But…?"

"Kagome. Well, Kagome, our Kagome - the Defender of Justice and Magnet of Misfortunes - she's married."

Upon the word 'married', Miroku lurched forward in a fit of coughs.

"I'm so sorry!" Sango handed him his glass of orange juice. "Here, drink."

Miroku gratefully took the glass and said, after finally calming down, "_Surprised_? That's an understatement. I can't fucking believe it. Kagome-sama? _Married_? Her reactions are so bland when it comes to men," he started rambling in disbelief. "When I first met the two of you, I thought that you two had it together."

"Excuse me?"

"Or maybe she was _bi_? That's what I thought. And now out of the blue…she married _overnight_?"

Sango narrowed her eyes at him. "So are you over your shock now?

"I'm getting there," he nodded as he leaned backwards on the couch.

"And _thank you very much_ for being so honest with your first impressions about us. So it was _Kagome and Sango, _eh?"

Miroku shrugged. "I met her first. When I tried hitting on her—"

Sango pulled a pillow beside her and hit him with it. "You hit on _every _girl."

"But my playboy days are over!" he defended desperately. "You know why! And as I was explaining, she never seemed to be interested in _any guy_. What was I to think? Except that she must be lesbian! And well, since you actually went out with men then maybe _you_ were bi," he continued before pausing. "Wait, I'm getting confused."

Sango sighed. It seems that her best friend and boyfriend's train of thought was the same. Really, what did she do to deserve idiots for companions? At least, that's how they were sometimes. "I was telling her the possibility of her 'husband' being gay. And she _actually_ came to the conclusion that her 'husband', A.K.A. employer, was having this fling with his male secretary."

Miroku's face crumpled into a hilarious expression. His mouth was slightly open, eyes wide, and eye browns knit together. "Seriously?"

"Of course _not_! I'd know when two men are dating. Kagome just _can't_ tell the difference. I nearly died. Choked to death. Literally. Sometimes I wonder how an intelligent girl like her can be so clueless about people."

"But it's _Kagome_. She needs more people skills."

"And so do you," Sango sighed.

"But girl friendships are always too intimate for men to decipher the truth!"

Sango couldn't help but laugh. "If you thought that we had that kind of relationship, I would've asked Kagome to play along with me!" But Miroku didn't escape the force of her hand hitting him.

"Ow!" he tried to block Sango's attacks with his open palms in front of his face.

"That's for being Miroku."

"You're the only one I can name who blames me for being myself. You have weird mood swings, too."

"Sometimes I ask myself why I'm still with you."

Miroku's lips thinned.

"I'm kidding, silly."

Like a kid who was forgiven, Miroku's lips curled into a big smile. "So, tell me the whole story. How did _it_ happen?"

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******  
**Kagome waltzed in for the eighteenth time, wearing white fit formal pants and a collared, long-sleeved top that shifted from black to white, a printed gradient with black Arabic letters.

"Well?"

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "That won't do."

"_What_?" Kagome cried, indignant. "This is the hundredth set of clothes I matched!"

"Eighteenth," he corrected.

"Eighteenth! It doesn't matter! Look," Kagome crossed her arms, "these are the only clothes I've got. I'm not some fancy rich woman and my job never required me to go beyond _reasonable _expenses."

"We're going to a picnic hosted by one of Japan's elite. None of your clothes are appropriate for the event."

"A picnic? A _picnic?_ What do those silly, rich bastards wear on _picnics_? If it matters to the lot of them, then I'm going _naked_."

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow.

"They can ogle all they like," she mumbled. "Well, what do you want me to do? I don't have anything _appropriate_, as you said it," she glared.

"You're going because this is what I'm paying you for."

There wasn't anything she could do. Sesshoumaru's word was law, and she was the wife who was obliged to follow it. Kagome, sulking childishly, dropped on the couch. Ignoring her, Sesshoumaru pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. A voice answered from the other line before Sesshoumaru continued, "Maruyama? This is Yokoba Sesshoumaru."

"_Ah, Sesshou! How nice of you to call! This is unexpected. Whatever do you need me for?_" a male voice rattled over the other line.

"I forbid you from calling me by that name, Maruyama."

_"Habit, sorry." _

"I apologize for calling. Is the time convenient?" Sesshoumaru asked politely.

"_Don't worry, dahling. I'm not particularly busy. May I ask the reason for this call?_"

"Actually, I need a new wardrobe for my wife."

"_Oh, yes, forgive me! I forgot! Congratulations, by the way. I saw it in the paper. I felt _bad_, you know, that you didn't even tell me you were getting married! _Nobody _knows the lady! It's not my place to say, but I would have offered to make your lovely wife a wedding gown, or a wedding kimono, if you were to do it in traditional style. You know it's my forte._"

"There were…unexpected circumstances."

"_Ah, well, what's done was done,_" the person on the other line said with a sigh.

"Is your schedule vacant this afternoon? Forgive our haste, but we were invited to an event sometime this week and I found it necessary to shop for new sets."

"_Let me see…yes, yes. A few minor reschedules is possible. I can accommodate you this afternoon, if you need it. My doors are always open to your family, Sesshoumaru._"

"Thank you."

"_Drop by at three and I'll handle everything for your dear wife from there. And are you looking for anything specific?_"

"I plan to purchase whatever you have for different occasions, formal especially. But please include a summer wardrobe."

"_Well, I'll give you my best. You know I always do._"

"Yes. Thank you," Sesshoumaru said before sliding the cell phone close. He glanced at Kagome who was faithfully keeping the image of a sulking kid. "We'll buy some clothes after lunch."

Kagome kept a hard look of hatred. "Yes, I heard."

Sesshoumaru kept his silence.

Kagome, starting to cool down, decided to ask, "Who was he? The person you called?"

"Maruyama Keita. His mother was a friend of my mother."

That pricked Kagome's attention. Never mind the question on Maruyama Keita's identity. Sesshoumaru never mentioned his family before. Except for the time when they discussed the 'proposal' but otherwise, information about his parents or siblings, if any, have never been shared.

"Oh. How?" Kagome asked cautiously, in case Sesshoumaru decided not to say anything at all.

"His mother designed my mother's clothes."

"Your mother? I've never met her," Kagome started to say, eyes bright and voice cheerful. "Maybe one of these days we could--"

"No, it doesn't matter. Mother is dead."

"Oh...sorry." Kagome started to feel guilty. It was definitely a better idea not to have asked about his family. He probably would tell her when he's ready and when he wanted to. "I shouldn't have asked."

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "It was a very long time ago."

A short silence, uncomfortable merely because the other did not quite know how to handle the sudden strain in their situation, made itself evident. Sesshoumaru broke the unwelcome stillness by standing from his relaxed position, saying, "Let's go."

"Where?" Kagome asked, a bit confused, as she turned her attention back at the man who closed himself from the world, leaving her thoughts and curiosity momentarily tucked away.

"We're eating lunch at Antica Osteria del Ponte."

"Italian?" Kagome stared. "Or is that Spanish?"

"Italian," he confirmed. "Or do you prefer Japanese cuisine? There are also excellent restaurants offering Chinese dishes, if you like to try something different," he offered politely.

"Is that still in Tokyo?" she asked in disbelief.

"Of course," Sesshoumaru answered, exasperation slowly gathering like dust accumulating in the corners of a room. "Where did you assume it was? _Italy_?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I just…don't go to places like those. _Posh_ restaurants."

"It's at the Marunouchi building," Sesshoumaru gave an attempt to explain. "It's in Tokyo."

Kagome imagined him adding, 'You _dolt_,' and managed a smile. It'd never happen, but the scene was still comical. "Alright, I guess."

All it took was a glance from Sesshoumaru before he said, "Put your coat on."

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**Kagome had to admit. She _liked_ it. She was awed by the home-like comfort the restaurant emanated. It was a room wrapped with peach-colored wallpaper patterned with light curving patterns. Pale blue curtains hung from the windows while golden light decorated the walls. The tables were covered with impeccable white tablecloth with summer colored-flowers in vases on top while the chairs were dark wood covered with what seemed like soft peach cushions patterned with swirls.

A waiter, in the usual Western style of black-and-white of course, greeted them as they entered the restaurant. The ambiance and good service (as Kagome noted) was enough to make her feel good about the place. And Sesshoumaru was being extra nice towards her. Nearly like a gentleman at least. He was polite; he seemed concerned, as if he was trying to make their situation work out until their 'contract' was over that Kagome thought that maybe they could be friends—

"Do you plan on ogling at inanimate decorations all afternoon?" a man's voice interrupted her thoughts of admiration.

_A gentleman? _

"Wide eyes. Open mouth. How unbecoming."

_Okay. Scratch that. It was too good to be true anyway. _

Kagome leaned back on her chair and sighed. "How can you say all that without faltering? And all three at one go."

"Did the truth hurt that much?" he asked calmly, without twitching, and with all confidence.

"No. I just handle lies well," she rejoined with a smile.

A waiter approached them and handed them a menu each. Kagome took hers with a nod before opening it and tried to read the list of food the restaurant had to offer.

She bit her lips. She almost couldn't understand a thing except that some of the dishes probably had to deal with scallops, pasta, and roast peppers. She put the menu down carefully and took a deep breath. Across her, Sesshoumaru was, as it seemed to Kagome, busy trying to decide on the best meal the restaurant had to offer.

"Uh…" she started nervously.

Sesshoumaru glanced at her.

"I'll just take whatever you're ordering," she reddened.

_She was embarrassed. _He nodded without saying a word or taunts this time. He gave their order to the waiter who carefully noted down each dish and wine. Meanwhile, Kagome's mouth watered at the photos of pasta sprinkled with green leaves, pepper, and meat. A gallery of other dishes made her stomach rumble.

Sesshoumaru's lips twitched.

"I saw that!" she hissed.

"And I heard it."

"You didn't!"

"Why would I lie about such a thing as lions living inside stomachs? And yours a rather titanic one."

"You should pretend you didn't! Bastard!" Kagome answered furiously, cheeks as red as roses in bloom.

He shrugged. "Why would I do that?"

"Because that's what you should in front of a woman!"

"Woman? You? Aged teenager would be a more appropriate description, don't you think?"

She glared at him across the table. "You're so…so…"

"So…?"

Kagome bit her lip angrily and glanced sideways. "Never mind."

He wasn't smirking nor was he smiling but Kagome knew he was sitting on the damned chair with triumph.

She wanted to run herself into a wall. How long will it take before they go to the eating proper?

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**The building was the second thing that awed Kagome. It was not nearly so tall as others in Tokyo but there were countless of clothing brands sold inside, as was shown on clear glass walls at the ground floor. The place wasn't very flooded by people to the point of giving a stressful atmosphere but there was a good number of them coming and going.

"Does your friend…what was his name again?" Kagome stated, "Maru…"

"Maruyama Keita."

"Ah, yes, like the hot singer!" Kagome nodded cheerfully.

Sesshoumaru remained impassive despite Kagome's sudden bubbly attitude. "What about him?"

"Does he live here?" she asked as she curiously peered through her bangs to see how high the building stood.

"Of course not."

"Does he own it?"

"His family does."

"And they rent it to other clothing businesses?"

Sesshoumaru was getting tired of their question-and-answer conversation. "Why does it matter?"

"I just want to have an idea of what your friend does, that's all," she answered simply.

It was doubtless that the woman beside him was unpredictable. At one point she was close to exploding that he thought she'd walk out of the restaurant but an hour later she was oddly…affable.

"We are not friends."

"Your mothers were, so that makes you friends," she imposed.

"Humph."

"Humph," Kagome mimicked.

Sesshoumaru glanced sideways at her when a loud greeting echoed throughout the ground floor. A man was marching towards the two. He was quite young, his skin was fair, his eyes were wide and black and his hair was styled and straight with a smile glowing in his face.

Truth be told, Kagome thought that Maruyama Keita was a beautiful man. Not as beautiful as Sesshoumaru (because, really, Kagome didn't really believe that a human with a face like Sesshoumaru even existed until, well, until she saw his face and…er. You know.) but pretty enough to be hired as a model for magazines.

"Sesshou!"

Kagome's eyes widened slightly, lips twitching to the left. "Sesshou?" she echoed. She was ready to release a guffaw. This, of course, did not escape Sesshoumaru's notice and her discovery of his most-hated nickname was very displeasing to our lord.

"Dahling!" The second name was worse.

_Dahling?_ Kagome remembered Sango's flat-out response regarding her suggestion about Sesshoumaru and Jaken. The assumption that Sesshoumaru was gay still stood and this time, Kagome wondered if he had a different kind of relationship with his 'not-a-friend'.

"That's Yokoba Sesshoumaru, Maruyama," his voice was petulant.

_Last name?_ Well, of course Sesshoumaru would remain authoritative and…straight in public, or in front of her, Kagome convinced herself. What else would explain the pet name "Sesshou"?

"You should learn to get rid of last names," Keita pouted playfully. His attention shifted to Kagome and she greeted him with a bow. "The lovely wife, I presume?"

"Higurashi Kagome," she introduced herself.

Keita tucked his chin between his fingers in deep thought. "Of course, I needn't expect less from Sesshoumaru."

"I'm sorry?" Kagome asked, bemused.

"You're prettier than most girls."

"Ah, er…" Kagome mumbled, quite lost as to how to respond. "Thanks."

"Well then, shall we go?" the man offered.

"For once I concur," Sesshoumaru agreed with a nod. "We don't plan on staying too long."

Keita led walked with them to the escalator. Kagome could not help but covet the clothes and the footwear displayed in the different stores. Keita noticed this and smiled. "The lady wishes to try on some clothes?"

Startled, Kagome stood stiffly. "Uh, no, I was just admiring them."

"The largest department is at the second floor," he offered cheerfully. "Since our family has our own designing company."

"I see…" Kagome smiled. The three of them were now walking towards what seemed to be a large department store with mannequins dressed in various clothing of different styles near the glass window and scattered around the area of the floor.

Sesshoumaru remained a spectator as the two exchanged words. Maruyama talked about the latest fashions and what would look becoming to Higurashi. She would nod and smile, and at times radiate with gratefulness and delight. He didn't think she would enjoy their shopping escapade. She was a sulking dress-up doll at home that it didn't occur to him that the woman would actually like pretty clothes.

Keita grabbed Kagome's arm and dragged her towards a large fitting room with Sesshoumaru tailing behind. It had three long full-length mirrors and there were two women to assist any customer. Inside the room adjoined a smaller one whose entrance was covered by thick curtain-like fabric. 

"Accompany Yokoba Sesshoumaru's wife to the dressing room," Keita said to the two women.

"This way, Yokoba-sama," on of them bowed to Kagome. For a second she wasn't aware that she was the one being addressed but it soon occurred to her that she had taken the last name of Sesshoumaru. "Ah, yes." She blindly followed the two behind the curtain.

The two men stood wordlessly for a few seconds before Keita turned towards the taller man. He started rambling about the current fashion trends and its relationship with the business industry. Once or twice Sesshoumaru nodded but he did not offer more than ten words in the conversation.

"Your wife has a nice figure," Keita complimented.

Sesshoumaru looked sharply at his family friend.

Keita grinned. "I'm committed to another, don't worry."

His face hardened. "You misunderstood. I didn't mean—"

"Maruyama-sama, Yokoba-sama," the two women emerged from behind the curtains and bowed. One of them pulled the curtain to the left, revealing a Kagome that Sesshoumaru wasn't very well acquainted with.

She stepped out while trying to straighten out the dress, nervously running her palms over it.

"Kagome! You look charming! We could have white boots to go with this," Keita said enthusiastically. "No, maybe not boots. Too warm. We'll have the perfect shoes to go with that later."

She looked skeptical. "Maruyama-san, I really am inclined to believe that you're overdoing compliments."

"I'm hurt!" he said dramatically, complete with the back of his hand resting on his forehead. "And please, call me Keita. One of you should at least use my first name."

"Sorry, Maru—Keita." Kagome laughed, her voice light. "You have flair for dramatics, I noticed," she grinned. "In any case, it _is_ comfortable. And I like the texture of the dress." She turned her attention to Sesshoumaru. "Well, will something like this _do_?"

"Sesshoumaru?" Keita asked the second time.

He snapped out of his silent musings. "Ah, yes, I'm sorry."

"I was asking you if you think this blue dress would look beautiful on your wife."

It was a sleeveless dress in blue and white that fit in the middle of casual and formal wear. The style was refreshing. The clear azure and white colors were set in a large checkered pattern across the fabric. It had a white collar and a line of dove-colored buttons at the right.

"It's perfect," he agreed emotionlessly.

"You don't sound like it," Kagome muttered.

Sesshoumaru thought that the blue and white complimented her dark auburn eyes and ebony hair that lay straight behind her back. She _was_ pretty. Silently he commented that if her hair were curled, she would look more fashionable. "It's good."

"Sesshoumaru, you're a man of too-few words," said Keita carelessly. "But, really, Kagome darling, you look beautiful. Not that you don't without the dress. But I'm sure Sesshoumaru's a perfect witness to that."

Kagome reddened.

"Maruyama…" growled Sesshoumaru.

He brushed the threat away. "We'll get proper shoes later. We've the perfect shops just below. Come; let's look for other clothes. I prepared a fine set for you!"

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**It took Kagome and Sesshoumaru the whole afternoon to purchase her new wardrobe. Right after their shopping jaunt, the two drove back to the flat.

"I'm glad we're going home! I'm dead tired!" Kagome stretched her arms and legs inside the car.

"Are you hungry? I can make a reservation."

"Do you have to ask that as if you're asking merely because you've been trained to?" Kagome snapped. "And no thank you. I'd like to eat at home."

He did not answer back. Instead, he turned his attention to the world outside the car windows. They drove home in silence as Kagome was lulled to sleep by the moving car. It did not take long for them to arrive home and Sesshoumaru had to wake her up.

"Higurashi. We're here."

Kagome was determined not to be disturbed. Her eyes stayed blissfully closed; her cherry lips were glued together in a small pout-like "u". Sesshoumaru noticed that even in sleep, she seemed far from being, in the terms of the world, an adult.

"Sir, should I open the door?" the driver asked, aware that his master's wife was sleeping.

"No, I'll handle it," he said before turning his attention back to the sleeping woman. "Higurashi."

There was still no response. Annoyed, Sesshoumaru tapped her shoulders. "Woman, we're here." She stirred and for a few seconds he thought she was about to wake up. Contrary to his supposition, she settled more comfortably at the corner of the car,.

In short, she was hopelessly lost in dreamland.

Sesshoumaru decided that if being polite in waking the woman up was ineffective, other measures should be taken. Seeing that she was leaning on the door, he extended his arms and pulled the door slightly open, enough for Kagome to fall back towards the side of the car, hitting her head and waking up in the process.

"Ow!" she complained, rubbing her head. Kagome blinked a few times before realizing that there was an arm that trapped her with the hand keeping the door - the recent source of her pain - slightly open. "Sesshoumaru, you bastard!"

"I was opening the door for you. We're here."

"If you're trying to be a gentleman about it, you're failing miserably." With a final display of displeasure, Kagome narrowed her eyes before sleepily getting out of the car.

"Go up first. I'll have someone take the clothes to the room."

Seeing that he wasn't getting out of the car, Kagome asked, "Why? Where are you going?"

"Business. I have to meet someone."

"How will you eat dinner?"

"I'll have one along the way. You don't have to wait for me."

Kagome felt a spurt of disappointment. She brushed it off, trying to convince herself that she was being ridiculous. Of course Sesshoumaru had other important businesses to take care of. He wasn't exactly the most available of men, after all.

"Well, good night," she waved, closing the door. Remembering something, she opened the door again. "And thanks for today. I really enjoyed it, despite being tired and famished."

Slightly taken aback by her gratitude, Sesshoumaru simply replied, "Don't wait for me. I'll be late."

Kagome nodded and closed the door again. As she walked alone towards the elevator, she said to herself, "We're sort-of becoming friends, I guess."

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**Kagome drank the last drop of milk. Licking her lips, she stared at the box of cereal that rested on top of the table. "Maybe I should learn to cook some new dishes? Come to think of it, I've been cooking the same dishes for the gooses-knows-how-many-years." Should she ask Souta to teach her?

She shook her head. No, definitely not.

"Noodles, ramen, curry...should I try something foreign? Like the glorious Italian we had this afternoon?"

As expected, nobody answered her.

"Now I'm talking to myself..."

A sudden ring resonated from the living room and Kagome jumped. She hurriedly ran to the phone and picked it up. A rough voice greeted from the other line without waiting for a 'hello'.

_"Oi, Sesshoumaru! What did you do this time? Father seems furious. Says he's coming home at the next flight from New York. All the while you were the smart brother figure and I have no idea what you did that made him want to hop on the very first plane available. Sesshoumaru? Oi! Say something, you asshole!"_

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**_to be continued… _

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****AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I know I haven't been updating lately but I tried to make this rather long for all those weeks of not posting anything. School started and it's extremely demanding so updates won't happen often. I won't promise when the next chapter will be up next, but I'll try my best to update as soon as I can.

Last week, someone plagiarized this fic. I wouldn't mind the plot – it's not a very special one anyway. I know stories that are somewhat like this exist online and at other places. What would most likely infuriate me are events copied exactly as they are, arguments and comebacks copied and rephrased, then uploaded in a different fandom. The web's not too big for someone else to read a plagiarized fic. Being a victim of plagiarism isn't a very pleasant experience. I've been plagiarized in different ways more than once so I will not tolerate any of that sort happening. I had the author put down the fic. I'd like to avoid other incidences like this in the future.

Simply put, please don't even try it.

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****** CHAPTER NOTES and further DISCLAIMERS  
**

Some things in this chapter were adapted from real life. For instance, there is an_ Antica Osteria del Ponte_ restaurant at the _Marunouchi_ building in Tokyo. They do specialize in italian dishes and those mentioned (the description and other implied dishes) were supposed to be Italian. Hehe. The described restaurant _does_ look like the way it was described here as based on a picture I found online (minus the chairs which I fabricated myself since they couldn't be seen in detail) but the version I used for the fic was the one in Italy. I couldn't find a picture of the restaurant itself in Japan.

Maruyama Keita _is_ a fashion designer. He's one of the young-looking (from the picture that I've seen) fashion designers but, if I remember correctly (please tell me if I'm wrong), he specializes in the incorporation of kimono designs in modern clothing. I might be getting confused with stock knowledge so I'm not quite too sure if it was another fashion designer who specializes in the kimono designs. His character, however, was completey fictional and must not be related to the real person himself. The building where they shopped was a fruit of imagination as well. And the dress. xD

_(Last edited: April 16, 2007)_

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**Anyway, please review. They keep me happy.


	9. Chapter 9: An Unexpected Interlude

STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY: Inuyasha and all its characters do not belong to me. They belong to their rightful owner, Rumiko Takahashi. This is for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.

**Title:** In Pursuit of Happiness  
**Author:** Gladiel  
**Series:** Inuyasha  
**Genre: **Romance, Humor  
**Pairing: **Sesshoumaru x Kagome**  
Rating:** M  
**Chapter Summary:** Hazy memories piece together to complete a part of the puzzle. Old friends - or enemies - visit uninvited. When in-laws come like enraged bulls (or so it seems) charging at your door, married life can't get any better.

Please note the rating above. It applies to this chapter now. :)

**IN PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS**  
chapter nine  
_an unexpected interlude_

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_ "Oi, Sesshoumaru! What did you do this time? Father seems furious. Says he's coming home at the next flight from New York. All the while you were the smart brother figure and I have no idea what you did that made him want to hop on the very first plane available. Sesshoumaru? Oi! Say something, you asshole!"_

Sesshoumaru's _brother_? Kagome's heart beat wildly. _Father coming home. An ass calling over the phone._ Her brain repeated the same words over and over, like a broken recorder. _Father coming home. An ass calling over the phone. _If she weren't in such a situation, an unclear position with an unexpected call to handle, she would've laughed at the obvious differences between their characters. The man on the other end of the line was rough and loud, not to mention he uses a most interesting language. Sesshoumaru, on the other hand, was cool, composed, collected, unruffled, and silent – traits that would best describe a hunter of the night.

Sesshoumaru would never say "asshole". Probably. His form of insult would be, "You're nothing but a second-rate _posterior to the hips_." His voice would be icy – no, deadly. And he wouldn't say ass. Kagome has never heard him utter the word "ass." He was the sort of intellectual individual who'd use _posterior to the hips_; something fancy that would drive confusion into a person, rather than insult. But his looks, his eyes and his expression, will force his victim to acknowledge the point – or to get the message across.

_Wait.__ Something's terribly wrong with _that_ picture. _

"Call me an ass when you've grown a better head." Was that something he'd rather say?

Kagome took a deep breath. Something about Sesshoumaru rubbed off on her, she supposed, since if she answered the call, say, three weeks ago, she would've slammed it down angrily, cursing words in the process.

With Sesshoumaru, all she was able to say was 'bastard' at most, despite the fact that she knew more. That was something she was superior in Sesshoumaru, she mused. But it wasn't exactly something that made her feel accomplished.

Kagome shook her head.

Sesshoumaru cooties. _Ugh._

"May I know who this is?" Kagome finally asked, after what seemed to be a minute-long pause.

"_Ha?" _a baffled voice over the line asked. _"Sesshoumaru?"_

Kagome arched an eyebrow. "Yes. I recently had a vocal chord surgery. What a success, don't you think? I sound like a girl now."

"_Bitch! You think I'm goddamn stupid?"_

"From your earlier, er, message, I assume you're his brother? How can sarcasm be an alien concept for you?"

"_Hell, what's a woman doing _there_?"_

_He doesn't know._ Good gods. Was _she _supposed to break the story? No, she should leave family matters to family.

"_Are you the cleaner lady?_" _he asked in a dubious tone._

Bingo. "Er, yes! Yes sir!" She's not explaining things to Sesshoumaru's immediate family. That problem was his and his to handle.

The man grumbled from the other line. _"You have that kind of attitude? For a cleaner, you've got no manners, bitch."_

Alright. Kagome took another deep breath. She'd let that pass. Giving away to emotion would most likely complicate the situation. "Should I simply pass the message to Sesshoumaru-sama?" she asked calmly.

"_Tell him his brother called." _He was annoyed, Kagome assumed from the sound of his voice. Let him be. He hung up. No 'thank you'. No 'good byes'.

As soon as the line went busy, Kagome dialed Sesshoumaru's number. She bit her lip while waiting. Sesshoumaru's brother just said that their father was coming home, right? Dammit. How many hours does it take for a plane from New York to arrive in Japan? She'd never been to the US. The farthest she went to was China. It _was_ farther than Okinawa.

"The number you have dialed cannot be reached." 

She pressed redial. _"The number you have dialed cannot be reached."_ No, she shouldn't give up. Kagome tried to call again but she received the same message. The third try gave her hope: his phone rang. _Yes! _

However, much to her disappointment, the person she needed to pass on an immediate message to did not pick up the phone. _Damn Sesshoumaru. What the hell did he have a mobile phone for?_

But still. There must be hope. There must, Kagome said to herself firmly. Else, she'd go crazy.

She kept dialing until she gave up on what seemed to be the twentieth time. "Damn," she cussed, slamming the phone down with nearly all her force, momentarily forgetting that she probably should've have done that. "What do I do now?" Kagome checked the time on her wristwatch. It was 7.00 pm.

She stared at the phone and picked it up. It was still working.

She sighed. How late would Sesshoumaru possibly be? Maybe he'd have a meeting that could last for three hours. He'd have dinner someplace for another hour. Then he'd be home at about 11.00 pm. That wasn't too long for her, right?

BUT _DAMMIT_. HIS DAD MIGHT BE COMING _ANY HOUR NOW_.

She could take a nap. That's it, Kagome decided. That'll be the perfect way to calm herself, recompose herself, and to enable herself to think _rationally_ and _carefully_. She didn't live with Souta anymore; she wasn't with her little brother who reminded her not to act upon impulses, not to charge on unsuspecting individuals deserving of a good shout on the ear.

Kagome gathered the used bowl and spoon and washed it before dumping it inside the dishwasher to dry. It was too late before it occurred to her that she could've put it in soon after she used the eating utensils.

Stupid Kagome! 

After brushing her teeth and doing her nightly toiletries, she crawled under the soft and warm covers of her bed. Exhaustion conquered worry and sleep came without difficulty.

Being rich was an extremely tedious life, was her last thought before drifting off to sleep. ******  
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**Sesshoumaru rubbed his forehead and rested his elbow on the side of the car. The deals and talks with Hideki Industries were becoming strained. Naraku wanted a merging of the two companies or, if not, for the Yokoba family to sell it.

Sesshoumaru received a copy of the accounts of Hideki Industries and it was far from being pleasant. The group had ugly strings tied to the underground Mafia and he suspected that Naraku unearthed information regarding the current projects of the Yokoba Group of Companies and there was an unmistakable desire in him to gain control of it. If he did, an ugly picture between the Asian countries, especially China, would arise.

He knew that Naraku was a very passionate man. Sesshoumaru had been trying to keep the relationship between the two companies smooth and peaceful but if Naraku resorts to something drastic, he'd be prepared. The Hideki's would never give hollow threats but Sesshoumaru wasn't an easy man to defeat. Although Naraku was affiliated with yakuza, Sesshoumaru kept strings with the Chinese and the Chinese mafia. It was a long-standing connection between the two families for generations. But he'd rather not involve others, foreigners especially. Sesshoumaru did not trust them. Time may have held the two families together but loyalty can be washed away with it, for ambition and greed would always have the stronger knot.

He pulled out his cell phone and checked for messages. _Eighteen missed calls_. It came from home. What was wrong _now_? He sat staring at the device with distaste.

Problems and trouble were starting to pile on his doorstep that Sesshoumaru found the thought infuriating. He returned the call but no one answered the phone. Was she asleep? At ten o'clock? Never mind. He'd ask when he arrived home.

He closed his eyes and tried to relax. He didn't say anything to the woman but he was starting to remember _things_. And those things were connected to how they came to their present situation. He remembered the exclusive club. He faintly remembered saying something to the woman. He saw a smile. He couldn't decipher fact from fiction but Higurashi said something about…

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**_His father really never gave up. That infuriated him. He had done everything his father told him to do ever since he was a child. He respected his father and when he decided to bring Inuyasha and his mom into the family, Sesshoumaru did not rebel. He didn't openly go against his new 'mother'. When she passed away He accepted the event as it was. He attended the schools his father carefully selected for him and majored at the courses his father wanted him to. But to force Sesshoumaru to marry – to the point of threatening to disown him – _that_ was unacceptable._

_Did that make him ungrateful? No, he didn't think so. Sesshoumaru grew up to be a good son. He helped his father with the company and even made contracts with the Military. Their company flourished. Their status rose and their connections broadened. Sesshoumaru was the _obedient_ son. _

_However, Sesshoumaru knew his father well. He was serious. After Sesshoumaru turned down every marriage proposal his father made, his father decided to mend his will, just in case, and firmly told Sesshoumaru that he'd disown his son if wedding plans weren't made before autumn. He was giving his son merely a few months to get engaged._

_Sesshoumaru ordered for another drink. "Another glass, please."_

"_Sir," said the man over the counter before giving him a refilled glass. Sesshoumaru took it and drank while wishing that the brown envelope before him would miraculously catch flames. His father had a marriage paper sent just to taunt him._

_He did not have time for women. He was still thirty and his current ambitions did not include a wife and family. If he, Sesshoumaru, would fake a wedding arrangement, would it work? He finished the glass of alcohol, slamming it down in anger. No, it probably wouldn't. Even if he was an accomplished and powerful man, he was still a cub as compared to the alpha male that was his father._

_He realized he was independent and yet dependent at the same time. He'd live without the approval of his father but he'd die without it as well. _

"_So, you have problems as well, huh?" _

_It was a voice of a woman. Sesshoumaru twisted his head to the left and saw her sitting down cross-legged. She was wearing a beige top, its edges laced with an old-rose color and patterned with tiny russet flowers, and aquamarine pants that fit well with her slender legs. Her long black hair flowed in dark waves behind her back and her face was painted a saturnine expression._

_She, too, was drinking like there was no tomorrow. It was as if five glasses of alcohol would be enough to wash all her troubles away._

"_What is it? Work? A woman? Family?" she inquired._

_Sesshoumaru grunted. "All of them."_

_She winced. "Ahh…you have it ba-a-ad." She said, drawling on the '_a'_ and soon halved the glass with one go while eying him. "You look rich."_

_He regarded her coolly. "This is an exclusive club." What did she expect? Of course he'd have the money._

_She returned her attention to her glass. "I have a rich friend. His family owns a hospital. I have access to this 'exclusive' place. _I'm not rich._" Sesshoumaru wasn't sure if the woman was being proud about it or she was feeling pitiful or indebted with every word she added. "So…you have problems with work?"_

"_Humph. A woman like you wouldn't understand."_

_She smiled. It was a curve that emanated bitterness. "Tell me about it."_

_Something about the woman pricked his curiosity. "Why are you drinking to death, woman?"  
_

"_I'd ask the same about you, you cold jack-ass." She was playing with the glass, sliding it left and right on the counter. "No, I'd guess. Give me three chances."_

_Sesshoumaru was amused. He ignored the pretty name she called him. "Go ahead."_

"_If you're rich and you have woman problems, family problems, and work problems, the first possibility is…you can't marry the woman you love because she's beneath you. Your family are against the match and they have forced you away from each other." She looked at him expectantly._

_He arched an eyebrow. It sounded exactly like a soap opera. "Try again."_

"_No?" the woman sighed. "Your woman left you for your older brother because she learned that he's the one to inherit the company. Broken hearted, you did something rash," she shook her head, "and resigned. But now you regret it because aside from having no woman, you're jobless as well."_

"_And from which drama was that?" _

"_What? Still not it?" The woman shrugged._

"I'm_ the eldest brother. And I have no woman."_

"_There's one reason left, then."_

_She said it with confidence that Sesshoumaru was captivated. "Well? What's the last reason?"_

"_You're being forced to marry by your family and they've threatened to disown you if you didn't."_

_Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. A grin stretched wide on her face. "I got it, didn't I?"_

"_Woman, you watch too many dramas."_

"_Japanese drama's good but I prefer Korean. Their romances usually have that flair of extremes. First time I've met someone in a similar predicament in real life though," she said before sticking her tongue out. "I've no job, no boyfriend…" she started to ramble. "And a brother to send to college." She glanced teasingly at him. "I'm a virgin too," she whispered._

_He turned sharply to look at her. She was fair, he assessed, but there were traces of maturity in there, tinged with the faded vigor of youth. The mood she was in probably affected her physical features at that moment, but she seemed like a woman neither too young nor too old but burdened with what life had to pile over her shoulders._

"What?_ It's rude to stare, you know."_

"_How old are you?" he was forced to ask. She seemed to be in her mid-twenties but her actions made him doubt. She was playful and teasing, but he wondered if it was caused by a number of drinks. Something about her day made her look quite haggard, but as he first assessed she seemed to be somewhere in between. _

_She winked. "It's a secret." She sighed before returning to her drink, hiding beneath a web of silence. She was staring at an unknown distance, her eyes lost in a world he did not touch. He scrutinized her more closely now, slipping past the first-glance exterior. Her lips were full and red; her skin seemed smooth and fair. He wondered how long the legs were beneath the pants; how sweet her lips would taste; and beneath the shirt that kept her clad… _

_She was also unconsciously seductive._

_The woman caught him staring. Her eyes glowed with curiosity and, for a few seconds, excitement. She knew what he was thinking. It was evident in his expression. Perhaps it was the alcohol, or maybe it was desperation that they both felt. They have repressed a want for freedom, change, and passion. They fulfilled roles that other people around them wanted them to; they have been what others expect. Temptation flung its charm; the forbidden fruit sat on its throne alluring._

_Sesshoumaru felt the impulse to plant her a kiss, attraction tugging him like a magnet. He leaned forward, tipped her head towards him with his fingers, pressed his lips on her own and urged her to open them to respond. The woman was caught unexpected but she, too, soon gave in to the invitation. Passion tied the two strangers into a knot and at that moment they both shared the desire to be someone else, to release the Phoenix that resided in every man and woman. Despite the driving force of lust, however, the kisses remained harsh and cold, forceful and domineering. As if it was their outlet for comfort, a substitute for anger, and the fulfillment of want._

"_There are rooms upstairs," he suggested between kisses.  
_

_She pushed him gently forward, rationality filtering against the haze of instinct. "No, I promised myself not to do this until I'm married," she said, panting. _

_He looked at her with disbelief. "People like you still exist?" Nevertheless, he handed her the brown envelope. "And if I say a marriage contract's inside?" Without further adieu, she pulled it from his hands. "Give me a pen," she demanded. He swiftly took one from his coat pocket and handed it to her. Although dizzy, she was able to recognize the blanks that required her signature and information, filled it out, then returned the pen to him. Sesshoumaru did the same.  
_

******  
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******  
**Did he ask Ah-Un to drive them to the registration office after that, or straight home? But the marriage was registered, as he checked a few days before, so someone must have dropped it there. His memories stopped at the club's counter and everything else was hazy. But now he was sure that he signed it. Which meant that Higurashi _was_ telling the truth. It was as if fate played them a prank that everything they needed to get 'married' was with their reach that night. How many glasses of alcohol did he have, exactly? Sesshoumaru could not find the rational side of his that usually kept him from making disastrous mistakes.

It would be amusing to observe Higurashi while she tried to remember the events from that night. Her concern over those related subjects kept him from boredom that Sesshoumaru had already decided that he'd keep his memories to himself for the time being. An angry Higurashi, a bitter Higurashi, a confused Higurashi – she had twisted and turned his once monotonous life.

When he arrived at the flat, the lights were off. He remembered the seemingly urgent phone calls. He decided to check on Kagome and, true enough, the woman was already asleep. If she could sleep then whatever it was, it probably was something to be told in the morning instead. As he passed by the kitchen to get a glass of water, he saw the box of cereals resting on top of the counter. There weren't any recently cleaned pans or pots either. He opened the rice cooker. It was empty.

Didn't she know how to cook? Yes, he vaguely remembered it was an anti-stress drug of hers. Did she eat cereals for dinner? Yes. The evidence in the kitchen was enough to reach that conclusion. Was the woman going on a diet? No, it can't be. There were potato chips in the pantry, bought by no one else but her. She indulged herself with chocolates and, from experience, never starved herself to slimness.

He furrowed his eyebrows. Higurashi Kagome was, no doubt, an enigma.

******  
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******  
**He woke up because of a loud rapping on the door accompanied by a voice in urgency. "Sesshoumaru! Wake up!"

He pulled the pillow underneath him and put it over his head, trying to keep the noise away. The woman was too loud at an early hour, he thought irritably. The sun wasn't even up yet.

"Sesshoumaru! If you aren't up by five seconds, I'm going in! This is important, alright?"

He grudgingly pulled the covers of the bed. "Gods, woman, what is it?"

She opened the door and turned on the light. He blinked, trying to adjust to the room's sudden brightness.

"Your brother called last night! Your father—" she stopped when she saw his half-undressed form, his elbow on the bed, carrying the weight of his body. His silver-like hair, strands obviously smooth, fell in different directions. Some covered the left side of his face while others just fell on his back.

She just woke him up, no doubt about that. But it was so frustrating that even in that disordered state of his, he can be as beautiful as than the award-winning Korean actor in The King and the Clown (whose picture that she kept inside her wallet to admire when she had nothing to do - but Kagome will never reveal that to anyone. Least of all her husband. Her brother said it was childish. She thought it was normal. Wasn't it?). And Lee Junki was most definitely one of the hottest men in the world. If not for his legs. But that wasn't the point.

How could she even be comparing him to a metrosexual idol in the situation _they_ were in?

"Put a shirt on," she demanded.

Sesshoumaru ignored her request. "Just tell me, what is it?" He glanced at the digital clock that rested on his side-table. _5.48 a.m._

Sesshoumaru was appalled. Good god, it wasn't even _six_.

"Well, see, I received a phone call yesterday. It was your brother!" Kagome explained frantically. "He said he thought you were the good brother figure but then he asked what's up with your father hopping on the next flight to Japan from New York. Saying something about you. _Whatdoifuckingdo_?" Kagome stopped, breathless. "Did you get what I said?"

He stepped out of the covers and out of the bed within a few seconds, his expression hard. "Perfectly."

"How long before your father gets here?"

Sesshoumaru knew why his father was mad. He had a so-called wedding and he wasn't invited. _He _of all people. His _father_. It's not as if Sesshoumaru had it planned, did he? But things had to be explained to the Patriarch of the family, for Yokoba Sesshoumaru _never_ acted rashly. His father had set expectations and he expected that there would be a wedding wherein he was going to be part of its planning and its execution (how could he think otherwise? Sesshoumaru, as Inuyasha would probably describe, was a 'perfect son'.), and his expectations were _always_ met. But, as things turned out, Sesshoumaru and Kagome jumped into matrimony without anyone knowing. And their rational selves where one of those who "knew nothing."

"I'll call my brother," he said as he marched towards his desk. Kagome stood by the door, staring dumbly. There were no signs of panic or fear in this man that she called her husband. Kagome had to admit; Sesshoumaru was a man to be admired.

"There is no time to be complaining, you idiot," he was saying over the phone. Kagome could imagine a grumbling guy on the other line, probably saying something in the lines of, _"It's not even six in the morning, you jack-ass!" _

"Tell me, what exactly did father say?" Sesshoumaru asked in a strong, frigid voice. "Don't even try my patience, _brother_."

Kagome strained to hear Sesshoumaru's reply to the report of his brother.

"What flight did he say he was going on? You don't _know_? I've overestimated you," he said scathingly. "I've miscalculated, once again."

Kagome cringed. That has got to hurt. So he was losing his composure? If she wasn't mistaken, there was a hint of anger in Sesshoumaru's voice.

He ended their conversation with an unfriendly apology, more forced than polite, for waking his brother up. He strode towards the bathroom.

"What should I do?" Kagome, asked, confused and lost without a command from him as to what _she _should do.

"Call Jaken and tell him to know which flight my father took. Take a shower; get dressed."

"A—alright." That was easy enough.

"Remember your dramas," he added in what seemed to be an afterthought. "And how it was to fall in love."

Well, that should be easy too, she hoped. "Hey, am I the only one to do the 'falling-in-love' thing?" she asked, eye brows creased.

"Yes."

"That's unfair!" she folded her arms in protest.

"Whom do you think this Sesshoumaru loves best?" he asked, pausing just a few inches away from the bathroom door.

Kagome sighed, answering wearily. "Himself."

He nodded, his face straight and silently grim. "Then we have nothing to argue about."

"Yessir," Kagome muttered in gritted teeth.

******  
**-----------------------------------------

******  
**An hour and a half passed before Sesshoumaru received a call from Jaken. Privately, Jaken was grateful for his employer's level of influence. He never would've received exact information regarding Yokoba-sama's flight.

"Thank you, Jaken. That shall be enough. And please inform Enju that I will not be going to the office today." Sesshoumaru put the phone back to the receiver.

"What time?" Kagome asked, dread and nervousness burst into butterflies in her stomach. "Did he get the time?"

"My father will be here this afternoon. However, he'd most likely drop us a personal visit this evening," he explained as he arranged the books he returned to his study. "He won't call. He doesn't like handling family matters over the phone."

"And I should find _that_ reassuring?" Kagome took in deep breaths. "Meeting your father up close and personal is something I really wouldn't choose over a ballistic parent over the phone."

His eyes looked at her sharply. "You're hyperventilating."

She was walking around in a small circle, taking in deep breaths, pounding the palm of her hand on her chest in a continual rhythm. She shook her head. "I'm just nervous. Extremely nervous."

He marched towards her, put his hands on her shoulders, and forced her to a stop. "Higurashi, the last thing I need is a wife in the hospital. Breathe through your nose slowly – and deep. Go on, breathe."

"I'm—I'm doing it."

"Good. I need you to keep your head together, please."

Kagome paused, mouth wide open, in the middle of breathing. _Please? _Now she was _hearing_ things? Unfortunately she was never able to confirm its validity because at that second the doorbell rang.

And it rang again continuously for four times.

"Shit. Who's that idiot at the door?" Kagome muttered to herself as she trudged ever so slowly just to keep whoever was behind it waiting. "Wait there, you ass."

Sesshoumaru kept his position, watching Kagome turn right at the corridor, amusement hidden behind his eyes. He knew she was purposely keeping the person waiting by taking slow steps to the door. It was, in his point of view, ridiculously childish.

"HOLY KING OF BASTARDS!"

Thinking there was a problem, since the woman's outburst didn't seem to be exactly called for, Sesshoumaru rushed to the door.

"It's been ten years and you're still wearing that hideous hairstyle!" he heard Kagome continue. _Who was at the door?_

To Sesshoumaru's confusion, there was his brother standing on the doorway.

Inuyasha, with a confused expression, stared in disbelief. "Damn it to hell, what's wrong with my _hair_? What the fuck are you doing here?" He backed off a few steps, twisting his head to the left and right of the hall, as if to check if he was in the wrong floor. "Is this a stupid apparition or what?" He stared at Kagome. "Came to haunt me from the dead?"

"What is your business here, Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru asked, confirming Inuyasha's uncertainty in his present location. "And tone down your morning greeting. You'll scare the neighbors into thinking there's a terrorist."

Inuyasha let the insult pass – he couldn't grasp the situation in its entirety. "_Sesshoumaru?_ What are you doing with this woman?"

"I have a name, damn you. And I'm fully alive and healthy, thank you very much."

Inuyasha's forehead wrinkled. "Kagome? _The_ Higurashi Kagome? _Oh Holy Queen of Bitches_?"

"Haha," Kagome said scornfully before closing the door on the face of whom she considered an invader.

"Oi, open up!" Inuyasha shouted from outside, pounding at the door. "Damn you, Kagome, this is ridiculous!"

"Do you know him, Sesshoumaru?" she asked with a bored tone.

"Do you—" he began, but Kagome continued without waiting for his answer. "No? Nor do I. I guess it's some stranger who lost his way."

Sesshoumaru regarded the situation coolly. So they knew each other. Ten years ago. And it seemed that it wasn't on the best terms either. That he understood for he couldn't think of anyone who could be able to keep a civil relationship with a man like Inuyasha. There were more important things in hand, however, and all the noise Inuyasha's pounding was making was starting to irritate him.

"Open the door, Higurashi."

Kagome pouted, like a kid being forced to eat her vegetables. Wordlessly she opened the door. "What do you want?"

Inuyasha was fuming. "What the hell are you and my brother doing in the same _freaking_ room?"

"'_Brother'_? What do you mean _brother_?" Kagome repeated.

"We need to talk," Sesshoumaru said to Inuyasha.

"Hell, you've got some explaining to do, Sesshoumaru."

******  
********  
**_to be continued…_

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**REVIEW REPLIES**

"_I dont really like how Kgomes character is shes so freking anoying I stop reading this fanfic after chapter 2 because her character got on my goddam nerves.And how can she be ok. with just loosing her virginity like that!"_

**A:** That's a rather closed-minded view of cultures, in my humble opinion. Cultures vary from country to country. If at the west they are more open about sex, a few Asian countries and other cultures still hold a conservative view on the subject itself (not that I'm saying that Japan as a whole would be one of those.). The country where I live would be a perfect example, but it isn't limited only to that. People also has their individual principles they try to live out. If you'd get annoyed with Kagome's reaction then you most probably won't be able to survive my country's culture. : )

If Kagome's upbringing was slightly different from most Japanese girls today (considering the Japanese's sex culture), you won't understand her if you simply look at her character in one point of view. Try to understand the varieties in upbringing, traditional and contemporary practices, as well as the environment she possibly lived in.

But of course, we're all entitled to our own opinions.

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"_but i think you should just say god instead of "gooses" or whatever. not many ppl would fingd it offensive."_

**A:** I wasn't trying to make the expression sound offensive. It was merely an…expression. : )

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"Lol but will the issue of how they were both married over night with no memories over be resolved?" 

**A: **I covered a big part of it in this chapter.

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_I'm also a bit confused, did they, or didn't they, or do they just not know... if they consumated the marriage? I seem to remember there is conflicting information on this in different chapters._

**A:** It seems that both Kagome and Sesshoumaru's attention got waylaid. I've started to tackle the issue. I hope it clears a few things up.

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******AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Finals are over and the results aren't too bad - except for Economics and Philosophy, which were my lowest marks. --;; Otherwise, I'd say my test results were good. I'm leaving for a five-day retreat in Baguio next week so I don't know if I'll be writing then. Probably not. ; This chapter had been half-written a month ago already, actually, but I was never quite sure how to finish it or end it, until today. Heh. :P

**Comments and reviews are always welcome.**

_Edited on: December 9, 2006_**  
**


	10. Chapter 10: Inlaws Part I

STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY: Inuyasha and all other characters do not belong to me, unless otherwise stated. They belong to their rightful owner, Rumiko Takahashi. I do not profit from writing this. Other than the net, my soft copy, and my own hard copy, this fanfic is not reproduced elsewhere. No copyright infringement intended.

**Title:** In Pursuit of Happiness  
**Author:** Gladiel  
**Series:** Inuyasha  
**Genre: **Romance, Humor  
**Pairing: **Sesshoumaru x Kagome  
**Rating:** M  
**Chapter Summary:** Be careful when driving motorcycles. Some cats can be the cause of a ruined friendship. When an unwelcome sibling drops over and causes havoc, make use of him by sending him on an errand - but make sure that excuses for lost things can be convincing, especially when they most likely cost a fortune. But then again, idiots believe almost anything.

**IN PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS**  
chapter ten  
_in-laws: part I_

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******  
********  
** Inuyasha lived for excitement. This, perhaps, was one of the things that made him different from his brother - something so significant that he would, at times, purposely choose that difference. It wasn't always for the sheer love of it, or the satisfaction he felt when his life wasn't a monotonous line of schedules and tasks that never changed. He wanted to be the radical one, the son less calm and the son less predictable. This was one of the reasons why he never attended prestigious schools that were flooded by spoiled brats or geniuses, like his half-brother. He went to a public school and was as notorious as the yakuza gangs around the downtown neighborhood. 

And because of that radical difference, he met Higurashi Kagome first.

It's been ten years but high school life seemed as vivid as yesterday. High school was a stage in one's life that you would never forget simply because, usually, it is the best. It was a point of excitement and rashness in his life. Perhaps not nearly the pinnacle of it, but for someone who was merely a teenager, it was a height of enjoyment. He needn't be too serious about schoolwork; he only needed to pass and with things that money can buy, it wasn't that hard. He lived not at the main house but in an apartment rented by his father for him hence he had the freedom a boy of fifteen or sixteen would want. Too much freedom, now that he thought about it.

He grew to love the thrill of living as a perfect delinquent. He was different from his brother: he was stupid, he was impulsive, he was happy-go-lucky, ignorant, and without a care for the world but himself. Sesshoumaru was constrained by the laws of being an eldest son, an inheritor of a company, and the expectations of many important men and families around him. For Inuyasha, it was only his father who believed he had a spark of ability, of intelligence. But there was no pressure. Yes, Inuyasha never did well in his academics but he was, so to say, quite knowledgeable about the ways of the world. That is, of people below his family's rank, place in society, and social class.

And, of course, the world that Higurashi Kagome belonged to was that kind of world.

However, she was not quite the same as him nor the opposite of him. Higurashi Kagome was, in fact, when he first met her, nearly a mirror of his brother. It was as if they were the opposite poles of the same magnet. They were different but they were linked by the same metal. She was a very good student, albeit not perfect, but was trusted by her teachers, serious in her studies (though not the smartest), and good to her friends. He saw how she treated her brother once when he went to their school during one of the festivals and he became a witness to her sisterly qualities: warm, kind, and dependable. But unlike his older brother, Kagome had a spark of vivacity in her; an infectious sort of brightness wherein she believed about the goodness of life whilst Sesshoumaru was too cold and cynical to even consider it.

And because she had a sameness with his brother, however little, there was always something that both of them disagreed upon. She stood for justice and he loved to belittle the weak, to bully the spineless individuals that lived for _his_ amusement, and she insisted being the protector of them all. It started with the Sango woman, he remembered, since she invariably became a target of one of his pranks but ever since _that _day, his relationship with Higurashi Kagome had always been strained, full of bickering and heated arguments, never a peace between them. It was the year when they had invented titles for the other: "Holy King of Bastards" and "Holy Queen of Bitches", as they had shouted at each other earlier.

Ironically, they grew into friends somewhere in their second year of high school. If not for an unfortunate incident wherein he_ accidentally _killed her cat a few days before graduation, an incident in which he was sincerely sorry, she probably wouldn't have kept ill feelings against him throughout all those years. Gods, he knew how much that cat meant to her, but it wasn't his fault it jumped right in front of his motorbike when he paid her a visit in the past, was it? He could still remember the guilt and agony he felt then, just by watching her sob her heart out as she cradled the wreck of a cat her pet had become. He tried to make up for it but after they graduated and walked their separate paths, he was never given the chance.

He observed her now, ten years later after. Judging from her appearance, she looked quite young – younger than her age, but still lined with the hardships of life. Their outbursts earlier had flushed her cheeks, though, that it made her seem full of life.

All these things ran through his head as he heard the drowning voice of his brother, who explained in little detail how he met _her_, his one-time enemy and one-time friend. Inuyasha wasn't paying much attention, but he heard the words "China", "Guangzhou", "friends", "married because of father." He pieced together all these information, tied them in weak knots, and in shock was only able to ask, "You're _married each other_?"

"See what shouting does to one's hearing?" Kagome muttered.

"Haven't you been listening?" Sesshoumaru replied in annoyance, clearly displeased by Inuyasha's lack of attention. "Yes, we did."

"But how could you marry _her_?" Inuyasha asked in disbelief.

"What is wrong with _me_?" Kagome stood, indignant.

"Why did you marry _him_?" Inuyasha now threw the question at her.

"You could at least offer your congratulations," his brother said coolly.

"Congratulations," Inuyasha said in a dry tone. "Now it isn't a wonder that father rushed home in rage. He called me and asked if I had seen you recently and I said no." Inuyasha was too much in a state of shock to laugh. He never thought he'd see Higurashi Kagome again, but to meet her after ten years _married_ to his brother…

"No, that can't be right. You sadists are kidding me. That's a good one, Sesshoumaru," he continued. "Quite weird for a first joke, but you threw me off there. I fell of hard, I couldn't even laugh."

The two of them looked at him as if he suddenly lost his sanity. "He wasn't kidding, Inuyasha," Kagome said, angry. Why was it so hard to believe that she's his wife? That they were married? She knew she was physically lacking, that probably they didn't seem compatible, but that wasn't a sound basis for a marriage. A business deal was more of a sturdy ground for a relationship between the two of them, since it wasn't as if they were doing it for the physical and er, pleasurable benefits. But, well of course, Inuyasha wasn't aware of that. But friendship and companionship's good, too, as was their alibi.

"From your reactions earlier, I presume you knew each other?" Sesshoumaru broke Inuyasha's laughter and he noticed Kagome glaring towards the direction of his brother. "How?"

Kagome's voice was hard. "Just from high school."

Inuyasha nodded slowly, guilt still eating him because of the accident that happened years ago. "We just knew each other."

"Classmates, actually."

Sesshoumaru knew that the two people in front of him weren't telling him something important – something that caused his brother uneasiness and his wife distress.

"And?" he continued to ask, determined to get the truth of the story.

"Your brother was an excellent delinquent," Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Ah, yes, he was part of one of the rowdy gangs in the city," Sesshoumaru affirmed.

Inuyasha seemed shocked. "How—"

"I knew, _brother_."

"Oh yeah. I nearly forgot you lived in that horribly _messy_ apartment," Kagome said.

"First my hair and now my apartment?" Inuyasha replied fiercely. "Why do you live to criticize me, wench?"

Sesshoumaru paid close attention to their bickering. So, she's been to his apartment back in high school? How deep did their relationship run?

"Ugh," Kagome said with a wave of her hand, "Your long hair's so…out of style."

"Sesshoumaru's wearing the same long sort of hair," Inuyasha retorted, folding his arms over his chest.

"You don't understand! It fits _him_, not you," Kagome said with a 'tsk' while shaking her head.

Inuyasha turned his chair around in a huff.

"Am I to assume the two of you were friends?" Sesshoumaru asked after observing the two.

"NO!" they denied furiously at the same time.

"Friend? _Him_? He's a damn _murderer_!" the woman practically screamed.

Inuyasha stood up, slamming his palms on the table. "Damn it, Kagome, that was ten years ago! It was an accident, for gods' sake! It wasn't as if I _meant_ to kill your cat!"

Sesshoumaru was finally getting a clearer picture. So, a cat was involved. A dead cat, by the looks of it. However, he let the movie roll and sat back like a part of the audience, watching and listening intently at the unfolding drama.

"Yes you did!" Kagome's face was red with anger. She wasn't hysterical but it seemed nearly so. "Buyo was the only one I had of father! And you killed him!"

"Don't even start treating me like a murderer!" Inuyasha snapped back at her. "You stubborn wench! Didn't I say I was _sorry_? _I was godamn sorry_!"

"Let's end it here, okay?" Kagome snapped frigidly. She was seeing the whole scene again. She was chasing after her cat, running down the dusty steps of the shrine. She stopped to see Inuyasha frozen, standing next to his motorcycle, staring at something. Her attention drifted towards a heap of flattened fur and bones and she _knew_ at an instant what had happened.

Kagome sat down in silence and finished her tea without interruption. Sesshoumaru thought it unwise to join the conversation and kept his voice from saying anything.

"Damn you, say something, Kagome," Inuyasha almost pleaded in frustration.

"I knew you were sorry," she said in a low tone. Without giving Inuyasha a chance to say anything, she turned to Sesshoumaru, saying, "I'm going to take to prepare some salad for the both of you." She stood up, turned left, and disappeared. Wordlessly, she left the two brothers. Both sat in stony silence that, for a moment, drowned their curiosity regarding the life of the other.

"You killed her _cat_?" Sesshoumaru broke the silence first.

"Don't even push it, Sesshoumaru. She adored that cat," Inuyasha snapped.

"If it was given by her father, then I could imagine why she hated you," he remarked calmly.

Trust Sesshoumaru to come out unruffled after witnessing a scene, Inuyasha thought. "So it's true, huh? If she told you about her father, then it means you really are friends," Inuyasha sighed. "If you're friends with that woman then it's possible that you married her, I suppose," he continued to no one in particular.

What was their relationship, exactly? Sesshoumaru asked himself. It seemed as if they were friends and enemies at the same time. He felt disconcerted at the fact that Inuyasha knew more about the Higurashi woman than he did. He didn't even know he she had a cat whilst Inuyasha did, and that annoyed him. Then again, he and Kagome of them didn't exactly talk about themselves.

"What's an idiot like you musing about?" Sesshoumaru asked after a short pause, casual with his insults.

"That you and her had set this up. Kagome likes those kinds of things. She doesn't often show it, but she likes to pretend things happen," he said in an angry tone, as if that trait of hers was something to be obliterated.

Sesshoumaru felt again the spark of irritation at Inuyasha's apparent insight, merely because it _was_ true. She even proposed that they add a midnight rendezvous in the middle of their fabricated story, just to 'spice things up', as she said. If she didn't accept the fact that it was out of his character, then she would've probably pushed it. "How perceptive of you," he said coldly.

Inuyasha shrugged. "It was ten years ago. I've no idea if she's still the same but knowing her, she still has an 'Illusion Island'."

"'Illusion Island'?"

"A state of hers when she tries to believe something that isn't real, or something goes terribly wrong with her life that she feels she's imagining things. It was her best friend named Sango, I think, who happened to mention something about it."

Sango. Sesshoumaru had already met her. Keeping his irritation to himself, Sesshoumaru decided to use Inuyasha for something more useful than interrogating him about his personal life. "Are you busy?"

"No. I was just dropping by because of curiosity," he shrugged. "Keh, and I thought she was the cleaner woman."

Sesshoumaru could almost imagine the conversation of the two over the phone. Dismissing the thought, he went direct to the point. "I need you to run an errand."

"Like I have a choice to say no," Inuyasha grumbled, laying his back against the chair. "What is it? If it costs money, you're paying," Inuyasha regarded his brother with distrust.

"No, you just need to get a pair of rings from a jewelry shop." Sesshoumaru took a piece of paper from his pocket. "That's the address and the receipt."

"What's this? Did you and she have a shotgun wedding or something?" Inyuasha read the receipt before eyeing Sesshoumaru's left hand. "You're not wearing wedding rings."

"She lost them in heaven-knows-where," Sesshoumaru lied smoothly.

"You serious?"

He looked intently at Inuyasha. "Did I ever kid about anything?"

After a moment of thinking, an attempt to recall something, Inuyasha shook his head. "No. Point taken, _dear brother_. Sounds like some disaster Kagome's prone to, anyway."

Inuyasha's casual mention of Kagome vexed Sesshoumaru. "Then go. Make sure you get back within an hour."

"For someone who's asking a favor, you sure are demanding," Inuyasha muttered.

"I'm the eldest," Sesshoumaru said simply, as if the single line explained everything.

"Fuck you."******  
**

----------------------------------

******  
** "What? You kicked him out already?" Kagome asked as she scanned the living room. It didn't take too long for her to return from the kitchen with the vegetable salad.

"I sent him to get the rings we ordered," Sesshoumaru answered, eyeing her face for any odd expressions.

"And…? What did you tell him?" Kagome put the tray down on the coffee table.

"You lost the original pair," he said emotionlessly.

"How classic," Kagome replied wryly. She sank to the soft whiteness of the sofa and stretched her arms and legs. "You should have told me earlier you were sending him away."

But it didn't seem timely to have you around any minute longer, Sesshoumaru reasoned silently. Instead, he reached out for the salad to have a bite himself.

"I prepared two dressings. Caesar Salad dressing or Thousand Island?" Kagome offered.

"Caesar."

Kagome handed him the small plate with the salad dressing. "What do you think your father will do when he comes to see us?" Kagome asked after a few seconds of reflection.

"Yell. He would treat us coldly at first, most likely, but his temper will get the better of him. My father has a very loud voice and at uncalled situations it becomes embarrassing," he grunted.

Kagome twisted to her right and stared at Sesshoumaru. "Are you serious?"

"Inuyasha received some of his traits from my father's side of the family," he explained dryly.

Kagome leaned forward to grab another lettuce leaf. "So that's how it'll be, huh?"

Sesshoumaru stayed in silence with his back against the sofa. He didn't tell her that it could be much worse. He knew his father, after all, and what he was capable of doing. But, no, Sesshoumaru felt he'd like Kagome. That was already an advantage. She had this friendly way with people when she's herself. Unlike him, she was warm and affectionate – two characteristics that could endear her to his father, if not at once, in the future. And somehow he knew that the Higurashi woman would persist getting along with his father even if his father did not welcome her invitation of friendship. Although, to be honest, sometimes her friendship seems a tad too forced on the other party.

Sitting beside Sesshoumaru at the living room somehow helped tranquility settle in Kagome. She's been worked up with the past with Inuyasha – things she didn't really want to remember, and despite Sesshoumaru's cold demeanor, some of his calm was rubbing into her. Maybe the visit of his father won't be too bad. She understood why he's mad. But if she could make it seem like she really loved Sesshoumaru, maybe his father would come around.

Kagome closed her eyes. Maybe she should ask Sango to get some good-luck charms from the temple. One for helpless cases, just in case.

She shook her head. No, she should have more confidence in Sesshoumaru and herself. Besides, if all went well, Sesshoumaru promised her a bonus – in monetary form, of course. Souta's birthday is in two months and she wanted to give him a little surprise. Now that their debt was taken care of (Sesshoumaru paid it without her knowing and, though she was enraged by his actions, what was done was done so instead, she swore she'd pay him back.), she could spare more cash for her brother.******  
**

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******  
** "They can't be serious…" Inuyasha muttered to himself while he fingered the rings inside the small, velvet boxes he put in his pocket. He lifted his free hand and ran it through his hair. "I don't understand how those idiots could get married. They're the least compatible pair in the face of this planet and—"

"Ow!" a woman's voice cried at the impact of her body against Inuyasha's. "Watch it, you bastard—" she started to say, but suddenly stopped and walked a few steps backwards, eyes wide. "EH? I—I remember that face!" she announced triumphantly, "I know you!"

"Ha?" Inuyasha eyebrows furrowed as he observed more closely and tried to recognize the woman that stared at him with surprise. Black hair – longer than that from ten years ago and curled a bit at the lower ends, but the face still had the same lines and the eyes were still the same mocha brown. "S…Sa…ngo?" he asked uneasily, backing away by a few steps. If he could remember the details right, the woman in front of him could deliver a rather strong punch.

"Oh, good lords, I'm hardly surprised an idiot like you walks around without looking!"

"Che, more trouble," he remarked off-handedly.

Sango glared at him. "Was I the one who was staring of into space while walking? _Nooo_. It was someone named King of Bastards."

"Hey! That's the second time today, you bitch! Does anyone even remember I was given a name?"

Sango looked at him haughtily. "A dog's name, you mean," she snickered. "And your language's as colorful as ever," she said, crossing her arms. "What are you doing at this fancy part of town?" she asked without letting him say anything in defense, and dragged him at the rightmost side of the sidewalk to allow people to pass by.

He shrugged. "Are you still in contact with Higurashi Kagome?"

She gave him an expression that said, "Are you kidding me? _Of course_."

Inuyasha let out a sigh. Why did I even ask? "The woman married my brother."

"Yokoba Sesshoumaru? You're his…? But—you can't be…" Sango was speechless. That couldn't be true, right? Sango tried to grasp a possible explanation. Inuyasha was the man Kagome hated the most and _he's_ become her brother-in-law? "You're lying!"

"As much as I want that accusation to have some truth in it, there isn't. Sorry to disappoint you," he replied with sarcasm.

"But you don't even have the same last name!"

"Heh," he grunted at her with triumph, "That's because I use my mother's last name."

Sango's face was an open book of disbelief. "But—"

"As a matter of fact, I already met the Holy Queen of Bitches."

"You still remember that name?" Sango muttered.

"Keh, what gave you the right to ask that? You called me the King of Bastards first. See how much you remember it, too. Makes me think you forgot my name but not my 'title'," Inuyasha lifted his eyebrow.

"You said you met her?" Sango regarded him with suspicion. "What did you do?"

"Why am I always the culprit? I rang the doorbell. _She_ lashed out on me first. I was sent here by my half-brother to fetch their newly ordered rings. Did she happen to tell you how she lost the damned things? Don't they cost a million?" Inuyasha shook his head with frustration while making sure he still had in possession the subject of their conversation. "That girl is so freakishly careless sometimes."

"Wha…?" So he doesn't know the truth? Sango thought to herself. And they gave him a story on the wedding rings being lost when they never existed in the first place?

"Sesshoumaru sent me to get the new rings they ordered. My father probably worried him, that idiot."

Sango tried not to falter. "Kagome mentioned something about Sesshoumaru skinning her alive for the lost rings, but I can't really remember much on how it happened," she went with the lie.

Inuyasha's eyes glinted with haughtiness. "The old hag's aging. Tsk, tsk. The _memory gap's _getting into you" he snickered.

"INUYASHA, YOU ARE DEAD, YOU HEAR? YOU ARE GOING TO BE _DEAD_ WHEN I GET MY FISTS ON THAT UGLY FACE OF YOURS! Who were you calling a _hag_? And I wasn't just a _hag;_ I was an _old hag_, huh? And _MEMORY GAP_? Try _saying_ that again!"******  
**

----------------------------------

******  
** "There are two rings for you," Sesshoumaru explained. "One for the engagement and the other for the wedding."

Kagome nodded as she put them on her fingers. She stood up from the edge of the bed and rubbed her palms on the lower half of her dress. It was crinkled silk, peach in color, and simple in style.

"Wouldn't it be weird if your father returned home and saw me wearing a dress?" While it doesn't matter what you wear since either way your aura basically just flows naturally with elegance, Kagome added to herself, sulking in silence.

"He knows he's expected. He called Inuyasha because he knew he'd tell me," Sesshoumaru said as a matter-of-factly. "Don't dwell on it," he added coolly.

"Easy for you to say…" Kagome bit her lips.

As Sesshoumaru left the room, Kagome heard the doorbell ring. Both knew it meant one thing.

"Oh fuck," she said, before hurrying to walk behind Sesshoumaru to greet his father.******  
********  
**

_to be continued…_

* * *

******  
********  
****AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Heh, it seems my updates are monthly. Regardless of the distance between the times the chapters are posted, I'm still thankful for all the reviews and encouragements my readers send. :) I never thought that Kagome could be annoying in some of the chapters, but I'm glad that the story redeemed itself with the later ones. I hope that this chapter was equally satisfying. 

As always, reviews are very much welcome. :)

_Last edited: December 9, 2006 _


	11. Chapter 11: Inlaws Part II

STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY: Inuyasha and all other characters do not belong to me, unless otherwise stated. They belong to their rightful owner, Rumiko Takahashi. I do not profit from writing this. Other than the net, my soft copy, and my own hard copy, this fanfic is not reproduced elsewhere. No copyright infringement intended.

**Title:** In Pursuit of Happiness  
**Author:** Gladiel  
**Series:** Inuyasha  
**Genre: **Romance, Humor  
**Pairing: **Sesshoumaru x Kagome  
**Rating:** M  
**Chapter Summary:** Luck from the gods is sometimes needed in meeting in-laws and Kagome's case was no exception. Lies, however, when compounded may bring about more disastrous results.

**IN PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS**  
chapter eleven  
_in-laws: part II_

* * *

******  
**

"Sesshoumaru, I don't think this is a good idea," Kagome protested as she jumped forward, blocking the door.

The woman was clearly insane. But then again, it has been quite long since he had established that fact. "Move. You are delaying my father's entrance."

"I am delaying our _deaths_!"

"I beg to disagree. The sooner he enters, the easier we will be done with this matter," he hissed.

"Did you just _hiss_?"

"Move, Higurashi, else it will be my father who will do that for me."

"See? _SEE_? This is what I'm talking about!" Kagome felt her knees weaken and her stomach churn. "Your father will be the death of me!" she whispered furiously.

"I will give you my word that he will not."

"What? You're asking me to _trust_ you?"

"Precisely. Now _move_. Once he rings the bell, there will be no second chances." He expected her to budge but the woman was too stubborn to do so. "I'm taking the pay for the door out of your allowance," he threatened.

"Alright, alright," she nearly jumped behind him. "Do it quick then, if you're going to push through with my death. I might as well arrange my own funeral," she muttered.

He took a deep breath to compose himself before turning the knob.

"You will explain to me this instant about that news regarding your _marriage_!" A loud voice boomed with anger the moment Sesshoumaru opened the door.

"Father," he bowed in respect.

The man at the door, Kagome felt, had an imposing aura. She observed him for a few seconds and noted that despite the creases of age on his face, he must have been strikingly handsome in his youth. Like Sesshoumaru, he stood unbelievably immaculate - tie in place, suit neatly ironed, and hair combed back with all strands in place.

_Now I know where Sesshoumaru inherited the genes for his beauty. _

There was also pride and authority in the way Sesshoumaru's father carried himself that she nearly backed away, if not for Sesshoumaru's presence that almost rivaled his father's.

"I will not be called by that name until your marriage to," he switched his attention on Kagome, "this woman is explained," he said in a glacial tone. "And there is no use in covering your impudence with this _elegance_."

Kagome flinched and felt as if a clever insult was flung at her.

"Father, please enter."

The man known as Yokoba-sama walked directly into the next room followed by two men in black business suits, and sat in the living room that Kagome tidied and kept neat a few hours earlier. He ignored the obvious disobedience of his son against the conditions he clearly stated before he was to be called 'father'.

It was as clear as glass that Yokoba Kitsuhito was displeased. "Speak, you impertinent _son_." The words rolled of his tongue in disgust. "I shall take your recent actions as a deliberate attempt to go against my wishes."

"I thought it was one of your wishes that your eldest son marry," Sesshoumaru spoke, challenging his father.

Kagome shook her head and winced inwardly. She should've known better than to trust Sesshoumaru! He was taking them straight to hell by answering his father!

"I did not give any instructions that you do it without inviting me!" Sesshoumaru's father roared.

"And it is precisely that lack of specifics that gave me freedom to perform the ceremony at the soonest possible moment."

"Am I to believe that this silly _wedding_ of yours took place legitimately? The fact that there had been neither a celebration nor a reception makes me inclined to believe that you merely attempted to _fool _your father. I am no fool, Sesshoumaru."

"You may check the official register. It _is _legal."

"What, then, is this? What is the reason that you have wedded yourself to a woman _without_ inviting your father to the ceremony?" His father's voice had an impatient and livid edge to it that Kagome felt forced to push herself farther back to the sofa with the back of her dress touching its surface.

"It was not my plan, Father," Sesshoumaru met his father's eyes directly. "It was my _wife_ who insisted that we skip the unnecessary procedures and have the nuptials as soon as possible."

_What?_ Kagome's eyes widened in alarm. She turned her head sharply towards Sesshoumaru. _That's short of saying you're leaving everything in my hands, you demon! _She was quirking her eyebrow, trying to quickly decipher Sesshoumaru's strategy. Mentally, she threw daggers at him. _You murderer! Traitor! You said you wouldn't let your father kill me! Instead, you were already planning my execution!_

Yokoba Kitsuhito shifted his attention on his daughter-in-law. It was her turn to be directly under his glare.

"Uh…" Kagome tried to quickly juggle her head for an explanation. He fingers were trembling as she nervously played with her dress. "You see, sir, I mean – father-in-law – I just happened to…fall in love…" her voice trailed.

"You _love_ my son?" his father regarded her with doubtful eyes.

Kagome swallowed, then nodded. Inwardly, she thought his father was rather cruel. Was Sesshoumaru _that_ impossible to love?

"If there is truth in that statement, what possessed you to have a wedding without _my_ permission and without _my _attendance?"

"I was being threatened," Kagome spat out without thinking.

"By my son?" For a second his father was confused. It wasn't exactly an impossible scenario. Sesshoumaru was a very driven man who would fight god and demon to achieve his goals. Thankfully, world domination was not one of his current aspirations.

"No! Not, by Sesshoumaru! By, uh, loan sharks," she countered quickly.

"And what does an immediate wedding have to do with that?" His father's voice was deadly.

"They…they needed an assurance that I'll have sufficient resources to pay my father's debt," was Kagome's explanation.

"So you married my son for _money_?" her father-in-law bellowed.

Throughout the debacle, Sesshoumaru stayed the silent observer (once again) as he witnessed the exchange of words between his father and his wife. He was rather impressed, truth be told, that despite the fact that Kagome did not know he was planning on leaving the explanation to her, she was putting up a good fight against his father without betraying much, save for nervousness and diffidence.

Kagome was getting tired of continually being accused of being a fortune hunter. Momentarily forgetting her fears, she stood up and said with determination, "I did not marry him for the money! I loved him! Regardless of _his _feeling for me, my feelings _were _genuine! I just asked him to have it in a quick, legal manner because the bastards had my _brother_! And they would not believe me until I had _his_ name in the registration!"

It was a spasmodic event, and the moment Kagome realized what she was doing, she stopped. She bit her lip and stared at the floor. "Uh, I got carried away by the, um, intensity of the moment…Sorry." She sat down immediately, convinced that her actions were now deemed unforgivable by the head of the Yokoba family.

Sesshoumaru's father did not say anything. He looked at his daughter-in-law and processed her sudden outburst. She rose in defense of her honesty and honor. He did not quite believe her story. He knew his son had a deliberate role that he played in the matter of their marriage. He could not be sure that his new daughter-in-law sincerely loved his son but from what he observed, she _does _care. That was something, at least.

Yokoba Kitsuhito tried to assess Higurashi Kagome's character. His son did not need to introduce his wife – he already did a few researches on her background the moment he heard of the ludicrous news. From what he heard, there was some truth about a certain loan shark group that they were indebted to and she had a brother who went to one of the colleges. He felt that she was a good woman, probably far better than some of the Japanese elite that he and his son were used to mingling with.

He did not expect his son to marry for love and affection. He expected him to treat it as part of the business and Kitsuhito expected a wedding between a titled family that would benefit them through connections and perhaps added riches. Not that it mattered to him; merely his son's actions caught him unexpected. How was Sesshoumaru able to meet a common woman, much less considering marrying her? However, looking at the woman seated across him, it seemed as if he understood a little. Sesshoumaru remained unreadable even after her outburst for Kitsuhito to decipher his son's plans, but he saw that the woman his son married had eyes that implored he believe in her and this inclined him to give them the benefit of the doubt. Mayhap she had no idea how she affects others, but he found it rather difficult to bring out his rage on her.

Ah…so he lost to his son again. He had no reason not to believe that Sesshoumaru planned to 'sacrifice' his wife, so to say, and leave to her the task of giving him answers because Sesshoumaru already knew that Kagome would be able to pacify him.

Sesshoumaru knew his plan had worked. His father had stopped his outrage; Kagome had sprung up to her own defense, and proved that she had some backbone after all. Being the strategist that he was, he felt it best to go along with whatever his father will plan next despite its many inconveniences to him. It may be good to argue a little, to lessen possible burdens, but since Sesshoumaru understood the gravity of his actions, he knew when to bend to his father's wishes as does the bamboo to the wind.

"I will overlook this offense," Sesshoumaru's father finally said, but to Sesshoumaru he added, "However, I am not convinced. I will expect answers in the future."

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. _At least that was over…_

"As punishment, Sesshoumaru will be given leave for a few weeks and I will send the two of you to France or wherever you like."

"Eh?" Kagome looked up, trying to understand where the conversation was going.

"I think that it would be better if we merely stay at one of the vacation houses," Sesshoumaru suggested mildly, with the ready answer as he was expecting this from his father.

Kagome jumped at the offer, since she still believed that whatever Sesshoumaru had in mind was far better than Yokoba Kitsuhito's. "I would rather stay in Japan, if that is possible, father-in-law," she said politely. "Forgive me, but why do we have to leave Tokyo…?"

Yokoba Kitsuhito laughed. "Of course, it's to give the two of you ample time to make me a grandson!"

Wordlessly, Kagome moaned and hoped her face did not betray any obvious displeasure at the prospect of having time to _make a grandson_. She expected the answer but she could not deny that she already perceived that as the reason for her father-in-law's sudden plans.

"We appreciate the concern, father," Sesshoumaru bowed. "But we were planning to wait, at least a few years before—"

"Nonsense! You will adhere to my wishes regardless of whatever you had planned beforehand for you have proven to me that the two of you are quite skilled in doing things in haste. I'm inclined to believe making heirs is no hard feat."

"But…" Kagome began.

"I will not be disobeyed twice!" Sesshoumaru's father gave them a stern warning.

Kagome sighed. _Things are going from bad to worse._

"Since that is settled, I only have a few questions to ask," Kitsuhito began. "Why were we never introduced?" He referred to Kagome.

"I was admitted to the hospital soon after I made your son's acquaintance, sir," Kagome explained without second thought. "There was no time to make any proper introductions then."

"What happened?" Sesshoumaru's father showed sincere concern about her health that Kagome felt touched and a little guilty for the lies she was going to give him.

"There was an accident," she said hesitantly. "I was hit by a motorcycle."

Sesshoumaru glanced at her direction. The story she was giving…could it be…?

"I hope there weren't any serious injuries," his father nodded in understanding.

"Nothing that a short rehabilitation could fix," Kagome started smiling cheerfully. "I had just come home from China back then, but it was unfortunate that I met so soon an accident as I was going down the steps of our shrine. It was actually partly because of the published incident that the loan sharks came after us," she shook her head.

"I see."

Sesshoumaru regarded himself fortunate that he had trained himself long before to control and suppress the desire to smirk or show any signs of amusement at any given circumstance. He thought the Higurashi woman quite the creative and resourceful character for being able to twist the tragic death of her cat as into an excuse to fit their story.

"Where did you meet?" Kitsuhito now directed this question to Sesshoumaru.

"In China, father, when I attended the Export Commodities Fair last spring," he explained.

"If you were bound to marry the girl, then you shouldn't have had any qualms about marrying," his father narrowed his eyes, trying to catch Sesshoumaru in a lie.

"The thought did not occur to me when I met her once again after the accident, despite your _persistence_, father. But I thought it convenient when she needed the help. We were acquaintances, if not friends. I believed you'd rather I bring an intelligent and capable woman into the family instead of a brainless heiress."

Kagome thought Sesshoumaru was a smooth liar. If she didn't know him, she would've believed they really _were_ friends rather than strangers living under the same roof.

"I will admit defeat for this particular round," his father announced.

"Eh?" Kagome stared at her father-in-law. Sesshoumaru's family was twisted, she started to believe, perhaps even far more inane than hers. Why does the whole thing seem like a…game to them?

"But until I have my grandson, the war will not cease." Kitsuhito stood up and to his men, he said, "Let's go." Before he went out the door, however, he said to Sesshoumaru, "After two weeks at the vacation house, I expect that you and Kagome will be moving into the Main House."

Sesshoumaru thought it best to comply. "I will see to our arrangements."

"I am still wiser by years, son," his father said good-naturedly, implying that Sesshoumaru was still too young to outwit his father. To Kagome he said, "It was nice to meet you, Kagome. The doors of the Main House will be open to any visit until you and my son have departed for the vacation house."

"Ah…you are leaving already? Won't you have dinner first?" she offered.

"Unfortunately, I have some urgent matters to attend to," he declined politely. "And Sesshoumaru?"

"Yes, father?"

"See me at the office tomorrow. Give me the current situation regarding _that issue_."

Sesshoumaru nodded while Kagome, gripped by curiosity, decided not to ask anything.

Kagome bowed politely. "Thank you for your visit, father-in-law. I will make it my priority to return the visit."

The moment Sesshoumaru's father closed the door Kagome asked him, "Did you happen to introduce me to your father?"

"I don't believe I had the opportunity to do so," Sesshoumaru answered casually as he headed towards the dining room to have dinner.

"Then how did he…?" her voice trailed as she followed behind him.

"One of them must have given him the information. Do not concern yourself about such matters."

Kagome narrowed her eyes. "I'm inclined to believe that you and your father know more about me than I do about you or your family."

"Whatever gave you that idea?"

Kagome regarded her husband with suspicion. "Just a very strong hunch. Women's intuition. Whatever you call it. And did he really expect us to just do it _all day_ at your vacation house for two whole weeks?" Kagome asked in horror.

"He doesn't look like it, does he?"******  
**

******  
**-----------------------------

******  
** It seemed unbelievable but for Sesshoumaru, it seemed as if his wife and his father were becoming fast friends. Kagome's visits became daily and it was only a few days since they first met. He was hoping his father would forget about the short vacation he was planning to give them but unfortunately, with Kagome visiting all day, it was impossible. Luckily, he managed to postpone it for a week. This delay, however, only gave his wife and his father more time to bond together.

As for Jaken, the events were horrendous. He believed that the Higurashi woman bewitched his master's father. How could a rude, low-class woman find favor in the eyes of the head of the Yokoba family? His plans were going perfectly awry. He was hoping that by displeasing Sesshoumaru's father, the woman would be banished from the family. By the way the things were going, it'd seem that it was anyone who opposed the woman who was going to face banishment and exile.

A knock at the door of Sesshoumaru's office snapped the two men's minds from their thoughts. Jaken proceeded to carry out his duties and opened the door. _Speaking of the devil!_

"Ah, Jaken! Is Sesshoumaru here?" Kagome greeted cheerfully.

"Sesshoumaru-sama is currently busy," he said with gritted teeth, eager to drive the woman away.

"It's alright, Jaken, let her in," came Sesshoumaru's command from where he sat.

Grudgingly, Jaken complied.

Kagome stuck out her tongue at the poor man and, in all-smiles, entered the room. She headed straight to Sesshoumaru's desk and placed a fancy paper bag on top of it. "Your father gave it to us. I've been trying, you know, but he wouldn't listen so I had to accept it."

Sesshoumaru knew what it was. His father kept sending the two of them various things that were supposedly going to help him get a grandson from the couple.

"You should've thrown them away,"

"What?" Kagome's reaction seemed close to being aghast. "And waste them? No way!"

Sesshoumaru noticed that she was drinking something, sipping through the straw once in a while. "What's that?"

"You should try it. It tastes really sweet," she handed out to him to have a try.

"No, thank you." Sesshoumaru turned his chair to the left and focused his attention on the papers at hand. Suddenly he froze and quickly glanced back at his wife then at the package on his desk. "You're eating it?"

Kagome shrugged. "Why not? It's not as if it'll be any harm. Besides, we're not doing _it _anyway."

"Suit yourself. Have you readied your bags?" he asked without looking at her, completely immersed with work.

"Huh? Why?"

Stupid woman! "We're leaving tomorrow."

Kagome bit her lip. "Ah…I completely forgot."

"Go home and pack your bags before I do it myself," he said to her, his tone stern and deadly.

"Yes, yes," Kagome hurried out of the room. "You know, you really should try those stuff. They're quite addictive," she called out before vanishing out the door.

"Shall I dispose of this, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Jaken inquired as he lifted the package off the table.

"Give it back to her," he said before turning another page of the document he was reading.

"Are you quite sure, Sesshoumaru-sama?" It might be a worse idea to give the woman the freedom to finish the package. For all he knows it might have some drastic, ill effects on her sanity.

"Would you rather drink it, Jaken?" Sesshoumaru asked coldly.

The older man shook his head profusely.

"That settles the matter."

******  
**

_ to be continued..._

* * *

******  
**AUTHOR'S NOTE: That's the update for this month. I'll try to write the next chapter soon and update it within the first week of November but I can't make promises. :P I had to invent a name for Sesshoumaru's father for "Inu no Taisho" is merely a title and from what I've read, there were no given indication of the brothers' father's name. 

Reviews and constructive criticisms are, once again, very welcome. :)

_Last edited: November 14, 2006 _


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